Bengaluru: Bescom helpline flooded with 32,000 power cut plaints

BENGALURU: Areas along Sarjapur Road, Bellandur and Yemalur plunged into darkness on Tuesday as Bescom disconnected power to apartments and gated communities.
In some of these localities, electrical infrastructure was under 5 to 6 feet of water. Besides, the unprecedented rain and prolonged waterlogging raised concerns over possible damage to underground cables and panels that were recently laid as part of Bescom's long-term plans to avoid frequent power cuts and reduce transmission losses.

Bescom's helpline (1912) was flooded with distress calls on Sunday and Monday morning. "On the night between Sunday and Monday, our helpline received 32,049 complaints, of which 22,560 were registered for further action. About 16,389 complaints were referred to the subdivision and power supply restored. About 6,171 complaints are still pending and will be resolved soon," a senior Bescom engineer explained.
SR Nagaraj, general manager (customer relations), Bescom, said power supply to these areas was cut off keeping in mind safety of citizens. "Many of our receiving stations in these localities were flooded, affecting power supply. Due to flooding of Kaadubeesanahalli station, adjoining areas were hit for a few hours and they were supplied with power from other stations. Similarly, there were snags at Jayadeva power station and Hoskote industrial area power station as transformers tripped, resulting in power cuts for 8 to 10 hours," Nagaraj explained.
'Don't want to jeopardise lives of citizens'
Nagaraj said apartments and gated communities had to be deprived of power supply keeping in mind safety of residents. "Our transformers and other instruments in these localities are completely submerged. We do not want to take a risk and jeopardise the lives of citizens. Once water levels recede and after assessing the damage to electrical equipment, we will restore power," explained another engineer attached with operations and maintenance. "Usually, during monsoon, there is no major damage to our infrastructure. But this year we have seen severe losses, from to poles and transformers, just like how it used to be during pre-monsoon shower months," a Bescom engineer said.