Dark nights still haunt city

Dark nights still haunt city
The Times of India

Bangalore: Monday night saw a repeat of the previous nights’ pattern of powerlessness in Bangalore. Sudden squalls led to tree branches falling on electricity lines and subsequent power cuts.

Bescom Chief Engineer (Bangalore Metropolitan Area Zone) N.S. Kumaraswamy said nearly 200 poles were uprooted on Saturday and Sunday. “We have replaced almost all of them. On Sunday, I had 400 to 600 men on duty 24 hours. On Monday some 800 to 900 men (20 men for each of Bescom’s 39 subdivisions in the city) are working to set matters right,’’ he said.

Officials said the heavy winds and rain led to power shutdowns in practically all of Bangalore. “We have information that there are interruptions everywhere. It is impossible to tell you as of now, how many poles have fallen,’’ an official said. Other sources said there were power shutdowns in Indiranagar, HAL II and III stages, HRBR Layout, near Central College, Gandhinagar, Banashankari and parts of Jayanagar.

While Bescom has no ‘emergency strategy’ to tackle such problems, according to Bescom director technical V. M. Chandregowda, Bescom has stockpiled poles to replace damaged and broken ones. “Each pole costs us between Rs 250 and Rs 3,000. But more than the cost, it is the inconvenience involved that is hard to bear,’’ he said. Another problem was coordinating with BCC to clear fallen branches. “We remove the branch nearest the pole, so that we can do our work,’’ he added.

Bescom officials admitted that such things recur every year. “But, can we stop the wind from blowing,’’ Chandregowda asked. “There has been no transformer failure the past two days,’’ he said.

CONTACT THEM


Bescom Chief Engineer, (Bangalore Metropolitan Area Zone) : N. S. Kumaraswamy: 98442 45888.
Bescom Superintending Engineer (Operation & Maintenance) North: M. Mahadeva 9844244604.
Bescom SE (O&M) South N. Sathyanarayana: 9844244605.
Bescom SE (O&M) Rural-in charge: M Shanmugh: 9448279007.
Bescom Central Complaints Division (CCD): 22287118/119 or 22355180.
Bescom toll free number for power complaints : 12660/1917.