Chennai: A day after the cyclone Vardah that ripped through Chennai, several parts of the city and its suburbs continued to be engulfed in darkness with large-scale destruction of power infrastructure. Electricity minister P. Thangamani said that all consumers in the Chennai city would get power supply by Tuesday night while the suburban residents would get supply in the next three days.
On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation restored power in the areas including Raj Bhavan, Mambalam, Kodambakkam, Ashok Nagar, Kundrathur, Velachery, Kottivakkam, Siruseri, Besant Nagar, Mogappair, Maduravoyal and Koyambedu.
After reviewing the progress of power restoration works at Tangedco headquarters on Anna Salai on Tuesday, electricity minister P. Thangamani said that over 10,000 electricity poles were damaged in the city and its suburbs in the cyclone. As many as 450 distribution transformers were damaged after the tree branches landed on it, he said, adding that 24 high tension transmission towers were also suffered damages.
“At present, we have a stock of 3,000 poles here and we have taken steps bring 7,000 poles from other districts. We have adequate stock of materials including poles and transformers to replace the damaged ones,” he said. In the unprecedented damage suffered by the power infrastructure in the city, he said, as many as 6,000 electricity board workers and officers in the city were involved in the restoration works on war-footing besides 3,000 workers and 70 officers brought from other places.
“Works are underway on war-footing in the city and other areas. In the city, all the consumers will get power supply by tonight. Steps are being taken to restore power supply to all the people in the suburban areas in next three days,” he said.
A senior Tangedco official said that almost all the areas in the suburbs have overhead cables and so the damage was very extensive there. “To replace damaged poles and snapped cables, it will take some time. We mobilise all our workforce and concentrate on restoring the power supply in the suburbs from tomorrow,” a senior official said.
