First monsoon shower on Monday ended up causing discomfort to citizens as life was thrown out of gear in second capital of the State. Prior to rains, a wind storm hit the city that led to power failure in many parts of the city, now a routine in the city whenever there are heavy rains. As happens every time the first downpour comes with a bang and ends up causing widespread damage. Also no one was expecting any rains and that too with such fury and hence many of them got drenched. The storm ended-up damaging electric infrastructure again which further aggravated the situation. Though the power failure as such was not the problem but as it occurred towards evening it caused severe discomfort to citizens. The South Nagpur and East Nagpur suffered the brunt of the storm as power failure caused multiple problems in the residential and business area here. The overhead dark skies and the lightning had already instilled fear among the citizens. And on top of that the darkness in the evening complicated the problem for citizens. Though the technicians of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) were ready for the job, the widespread damage was too much for them also.

 

So it took quite sometime to restore normalcy as it involved complex exercise of shifting load from one sub-station to another, back feeding power to restore the transformers under breakdown. And everything has to be done on real time and simultaneously the technical teams also were on spot to patch up the damaged conductors and other appliances. The storm resulted in uprooting of trees in several part of the city and Fire Brigade teams rushed to attend the calls. The wind speed caused more damage on the outskirts of city. The vast open spaces means the wind carried more speed there and anything that came in its way was simply blown away, said citizens who watched the drama unfold from safe confines of their homes. At many places the under construction sites saw small centering pieces getting hurled in the air. Thankfully as no one was outside due to heavy rains prevented any loss of life.

 

Power failure is now a common factor these days in city and more so whenever there is such spell of heavy rains. For many hours people had to adjust with power cuts as the trees fell on the overhead electricity cables that caused tripping. Citizens were expecting rains since last one week and finally the skies opened towards on Monday evening sending everyone scurrying for cover. Despite all the precautions as part of pre-monsoon activity, many of the trees fail to withstand the intense wind pressure and collapsed like nine pins. A huge tree fell on power line near Medical College causing blackouts in the nearby areas. Similarly the electric poles suffered major damage due to the storm. Teams of Fire Brigade rushed to clear the road by cutting the tree branches.

 

A big hoarding got uprooted in Besa area and it knocked out power in many residential colonies in the area. The MSEDCL team was already prepared for the monsoon fury and it rushed to spot. It took them about one and half hour to clear the huge hoarding and patch up the broken conductors. Till then citizens were on tenterhooks as there was no of knowing when power is going to be restored. Extensive damage was done to the HT line that comes from 132 KV Chinchbhuvan to Beltarodi sub-station. The power was shifted to 33 KV Mankapur and 33 KV Sitabuldi feeder till the restoration work was done.

  

As per MSEDCL spokesperson, due to high intensity wind, the electricity tripped due to breakdown at 11 KV SF2 and Sarda feeder causing power failure in Wardhaman Nagar and Lakadganj area. Similary, 33 KV Pipla and 33 KV Lukura feeder, 33 KV Vihirgaon, 33 KV Chichbhavan, 33 KV Raddison Blu also suffered breakdown. Also, Power TF No 1 at 33 KV Trimurti station tripped and master trip relay load shifted on TF No 2. The MSEDCL team also reported tripping at 11 KV Bhim Chowk and Mental Hospital feeder. It led to power failure in Bhim Chowk, Jaripatka, Pagalkhana Chowk and parts of BairamjiTtown. Similarly power outages was also reported from Borgaon, Bahadura area on the outskirts of city.

 

 

 

Ongoing construction of cement road from Shatabdi Square to Manish Nagar also caused problems for citizens as nearly a 200-metre patch near Ramteke Nagar turn was submerged under water. Citizens said existing storm water drains on the road were damaged during ongoing construction of cement road. Due to this there was no way rain water could drain resulted in the water logging. People said nearly knee deep water remained on the road stretch where only one side of cement road is completed.

 

Meanwhile, heavy rains also led to blockade of Narendra Nagar railway under bridge due to stagnation. This is a common problem whenever there is high intensity rains as water gets stagnated here. This led to shifting of traffic load on Raddison Road causing snarls on the Ring Road to Jaiprakash Nagar Square stretch. Long line of vehicles were formed on either side as vehicles crawled through the route as people could barely move ahead. Narendra Nagar railway under bridge (RuB) lies on the East-West corridor of city and any disruption causes widespread disruption in movement of vehicles. The ripple effect can be seen on Jaiparakash Nagar, Wardha Road (till Chhatrapati Nagar), in Khamla, on other side till Somalwada, and also towards Manewada.