City plunges into darkness due to breakdown of transformers

Jamshedpur : Various localities under the Jharkhand Urja Vikas Nigam Limited continued reeling under severe power crisis for the second day today. The problem began last night as several areas serviced by the Jharkhand Urja Vikas Nigam Limited plunged into darkness due to breakdown of transformers.

Mango was the worst affected as the 5 MVA transformer at the Pardih feeder developed snag due to overload. Reports of breakdown in transformers also poured in from Adityapur and Jugsalai.

Residential areas in Mango, Sundernagar, Parsudih and Govindpur were severely affected. �Power supply was disconnected at 9am on Sunday and was restored at 3pm. We tried to inquire over telephone but officials were unavailable,� rued Mango resident S.K. Sengupta.

For some consumers, power failure triggered water shortage. �Water could not be pumped to the overhead tanks. We were compelled to fetch water from Jusco taps in neighbouring localities,� Parsudih resident Anil Tiwary
Industrial units in Adityapur and Gamharia also suffered, failing to meet deadlines.

The induction furnaces and rolling mills remained closed due to the power crisis and only a few units, which could
afford generators, could continue production.

According to sources, the CLD in Ranchi, which usually supplies 35MW to Golmuri sub-station, provided only 20MW. Similarly, the Gamharia substation received 30MW-40MW against its requirement of 120MW.

However, a senior official said that engineers had been pressed into service and normal supply was expected to be restored by late evening.

The localities like Jugsalai, Sundernagar, Parsudih, Govindpur, Karandih and several other localities on the outskirts of the steel city also faced tough situations. Blackouts greeted Ghatshila, Mosabani and Chaibasa as well due to collapse.