Staff Reporter
Panaji
Amid the rising heat, the capital city of Panaji on Saturday evening saw a blackout for over three hours after a 33 kV underground cable got severely damaged at Neugi Nagar in Mala area.
The surrounding areas of the main city, including Tonca-Miramar were also without power.
The power supply went off around 5:15 p.m. and was restored by 8:25 p.m. in most parts of the city in a “phased manner”. Later, there were frequent interruptions too.
As a result of the power blackout, some traders in the Panaji market closed their businesses early. Even as many businessmen were seen running shops by lighting candles, others used emergency light torches to conduct their business. Helpline numbers of the electricity department 1912 and 0832-2490800 were constantly busy.
The department gave an update on its official Twitter handle account where they said that one of the two underground cables supplying power to the Panaji city via EDC substation was severely damaged when the approach road on a culvert collapsed. According to the electricity department, the particular work was executed by a contractor roped in by the sewerage department.
Electricity department officials were called at the site to restore the damaged underground cable and they simultaneously arranged ring feed supply to maximum possible parts of the city as an alternative arrangement.
Till late Saturday evening, the electricity department officials were working to restore the damaged cable and remove the other healthy cable from the debris. An excavator was being used to rescue the healthy cable.
A few residents of Panaji took to social media alleging that such an incident emerges when there is a lack of coordination between the different government departments, particularly while executing work that involves road repairs and road digging.
Over the last two weeks, the state is facing constant power outages for different reasons and it has been a nightmare for the people. On Thursday, one of the residents of Alto-Santa Cruz spent her night in a hotel that is backed by generators and located some 50 metres away from her house, as the power supply went off at 9 p.m. It was restored the next morning in the area. There are also some instances where lactating mothers are ensuring sound sleep for their babies by spending nights in cars with the air-conditioners on.
Power supply across Goa has been hit due to load shedding and thunderstorms witnessed in the last seven days accompanied by gusty winds and heavy rain. This has led to the snapping of electricity lines. Besides, power is in short supply in the state presently due to the soaring summer temperatures and the sudden spike in demand from the industrial units and also because of a significant increase in domestic use.