KOLKATA: A CESC Ltd senior official on Saturday admitted that the utility had grossly under-estimated the destructive power of cyclone Amphan as the city had never in recent memory faced anything like it.
“We did not foresee destruction on such a massive scale. I have never seen so many faults occur at once. The cyclone decimated the power lines in nearly half the licensed areas,” CESC vice-president Avijit Ghosh said.
The repair and restoration work is faceing multiple challenges. Workmen fear the anger brewing in localities that are without power for 72 hours now may soon result in assault. The team members are weary after working 16 hours a day for three days in succession and desperately need a break. But the Covid crisis and lockdown have further complicated matters as half the workforce could not report to duty. Of the 140 repair teams that CESC engages daily, it now has only 60 at hand as the rest returned to their homes before the lockdown.Sources in CESC said around three lakh consumers or 12 lakh people are without power. The blackout localities include Bansdroni, Netajinagar, Garia, Patuli, New Garia, Survey Park, Mukundapur, Gangulibagan, Ramgarh, Sapuipara, Sahitnagar, Kasba, Lake Gardens, Dum Dum and adjoining areas in north Kolkata as well as Howrah. All these localities have overhead power lines unlike the rest south, central and north Kolkata where the network is underground.
Apologizing to consumers who were still without power, Ghosh said that while he empathized with their pain and suffering, there was no quick-fix solution to the vexed problem.
“There is anger on the ground and that is completely justified. Living without electricity and water (due to to the power cuts) in summer is extreme hardship. We wish we could repair and restore the supplies quicker. But there is no technological solution. It has to be done manually. The nature and scale of disruption is such that it will take time. We are not in a position to say how long. We may in a better position by Tuesday to say how much longer it will take,” the executive said.
“Normally, if there is a fault in one area, we have redundancy in the network. But the cyclone was so severe that it took down the spare cables as well. Cables have been damaged in multiple places and several hundred poles have been damaged,” Ghosh explained.
“We did not foresee destruction on such a massive scale. I have never seen so many faults occur at once. The cyclone decimated the power lines in nearly half the licensed areas,” CESC vice-president Avijit Ghosh said.
The repair and restoration work is faceing multiple challenges. Workmen fear the anger brewing in localities that are without power for 72 hours now may soon result in assault. The team members are weary after working 16 hours a day for three days in succession and desperately need a break. But the Covid crisis and lockdown have further complicated matters as half the workforce could not report to duty. Of the 140 repair teams that CESC engages daily, it now has only 60 at hand as the rest returned to their homes before the lockdown.Sources in CESC said around three lakh consumers or 12 lakh people are without power. The blackout localities include Bansdroni, Netajinagar, Garia, Patuli, New Garia, Survey Park, Mukundapur, Gangulibagan, Ramgarh, Sapuipara, Sahitnagar, Kasba, Lake Gardens, Dum Dum and adjoining areas in north Kolkata as well as Howrah. All these localities have overhead power lines unlike the rest south, central and north Kolkata where the network is underground.
Apologizing to consumers who were still without power, Ghosh said that while he empathized with their pain and suffering, there was no quick-fix solution to the vexed problem.
“There is anger on the ground and that is completely justified. Living without electricity and water (due to to the power cuts) in summer is extreme hardship. We wish we could repair and restore the supplies quicker. But there is no technological solution. It has to be done manually. The nature and scale of disruption is such that it will take time. We are not in a position to say how long. We may in a better position by Tuesday to say how much longer it will take,” the executive said.
“Normally, if there is a fault in one area, we have redundancy in the network. But the cyclone was so severe that it took down the spare cables as well. Cables have been damaged in multiple places and several hundred poles have been damaged,” Ghosh explained.
Coronavirus outbreak
Trending Topics
LATEST VIDEOS
More from TOI
Navbharat Times
Featured Today in Travel
Get the app