the goan I network
MARGAO
Power consumers cried foul as villages in Salcete had to go without power since Thursday noon till late in the night following disruption in the incoming power supply from Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Consumers in some villages had to go without power for 3 consecutive nights for no fault of theirs, even as department officials expressed helplessness as the fault lay on the incoming supply from Karnataka.
Resident of Colva and social activist Judith Almeida slammed the power department for putting thousands to severe hardships and inconvenience. “People had to literally live in darkness for the last 3 days while their daily chores have been hit hard for want of power supply,” she said.
She pointed out that the situation has put senior citizens, the sick and the infirm, besides school children to inconvenience, while demanding restoration of the power supply on top most priority.
Power officials, who had to face the brunt of angry callers, were all stationed at the Aquem Power house, hoping supply would be restored at the earliest. A senior power official said they found themselves helpless in attending calls of hapless consumers. “We could understand the people’s sentiments since they had either little or no electricity for 3 days. Unless the fault is rectified on the main 220 KV line supplying power from Karnataka, the ground reality will not change,” the official added.
Power consumers in the commercial capital, however, were fortunate to receive power from Ponda line as Power department made arrangements to restore supplyto Margao to ensure that functioning of institutions, public utilities and government departments does not come to
a halt. While Margao witnessed a power outage at around 3.15 pm on Thursday, the department restored power within an hour, bringing a sigh of relief to consumers. Their counterparts in the villages, however, had to go without power since noon till late in the night.
Netravali’s hilly hamlets hit by power outage since last 3 days
SANGUEM: The remote hilly areas of Verlem, Salgini and Tudov in Netravali village panchayat have been plunged into darkness since the last three days.
Though the monsoon is yet to reach Goa, all three wards were plunged into total darkness in the very first rain showers with villagers facing extreme hardship as all of their electronic gadgets and home appliances cannot be put to use.
Moreover, the agriculturists are among the worst hit as some dairy farmers use modern equipments in milking cows and buffaloes.
Netravali sarpanch Rajani Gaonkar informed that power cuts are a regular feature and attributed it to the lack of electricity staff in the village.
“The 3 employees deputed by the electricity department are insufficient to cover the vast areas that come under Netravali village,” said Gaonkar.
Power failure in the village also affects mobile connectivity as the sole BSNL tower stops functioning. Meanwhile, Sanguem electricity department informed that power failure in the village was on account of problems in the 11KV power feeder at the Wadem sub station and that officials are is already in the process of rectifying the fault and that power supply to the hilly areas of Verlem, Salgini and Tudov is expected to be restored either by Thursday evening or Friday morning.
