Darkness... the saga goes on

Darkness... the saga goes on
The Times of India

Bangalore: Just as Bangaloreans thought the power situation had stabilised a little, windy showers on Wednesday brought in the darkness again in many parts of the city.

The widely-scattered rain, accompanied by lighting and strong winds, hit Indiranagar first. Bescom officials admitted to a chronic problem there but said it was being attended to. Later, a conductor located between Jayadeva Hospital and Adugodi snapped, officials said, spreading the darkness from Subramanyapura to Sarakki. “Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation (KPTC) must re-string that conductor, so until that happens, there will be no power,’’ officials said at 9 pm.

Trees also reportedly fell on lines feeding power from the 220 KV Hoody station. “Two lines have been opened up, affecting supply in HAL, Amarjyothinagar, Koramangala, Domlur and surrounding areas. The branches have to be cleared and the line restored. That could take a while,’’ officials said around 9.40 pm.

Winds to blame:

“The rains by themselves are okay, but the accompanying winds and, consequent falling branches cut power lines and cause breakdowns,’’ officials claimed.

Angry citizens, however, wondered why such interruptions do not occur during heavy rains in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad or Kolkata. That, Bescom retorted, is because the metros have underground cabling while most of Bangalore has overhead power lines. “Cabling costs between four and ten times more than overhead lines. We are laying cables, but progress is slow because BCC delays granting us road-cutting permission,’’ an official said.