Representational Image- APEPDCL— DC File

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Telangana government on Thursday dispatched the first batch of technicians and engineers to Konaseema and West Godavari districts to assist the AP staff in restoring power in cyclone-hit areas.

“500 more will arrive in the second batch soon and the Telangana government will also assist AP with supply of equipment and machinery currently not available in the (affected) state,’’ said a spokesperson for APEPDCL.

The gesture was in response to chief minister Chandrababu Naidu’s request to deputy chief minister who handles energy in Telangana, Bhatti Vikramarka, for assistance to AP to restore electricity supply in cyclone-affected areas. Bhatti Vikramarka responded positively after consulting Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy.

Naidu also briefed Bhatti Vikramarka on the situation in the cyclone-affected districts of Anakapalli, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Eluru, NTR, Guntur, Parvathipuram Manyam and Alluri Sitharama Raju. He explained that the cyclone caused extensive damage to crops and severely disrupted the power infrastructure.

According to preliminary estimates, more than 16,000 electricity poles had been uprooted, leaving hundreds of villages without power. Naidu stated that additional electricity personnel, equipment and machinery were required to restore power in the affected areas. He appealed to the Telangana government to provide technical assistance teams and the necessary machinery to accelerate restoration work.

Bhatti Vikramarka subsequently directed energy special chief secretary Naveen Mittal, TGSPDCL CMD Jitesh Patil, and NPDCL CMD Varun Reddy to send assistance teams to Andhra Pradesh.

Jitesh Patil initiated immediate measures. Assistance teams comprising SPDCL personnel were mobilised and dispatched to AP on Thursday. The teams would assist in repairing damaged electricity poles and power lines and restoring electricity supply in the cyclone-affected areas.


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