VASCO
An Indian Oil Adani Gas pipeline contractor damaged underground power cables during excavation work near the Chase Building in the wee hours of Thursday, leaving several parts of Vasco without power for over 21 hours.
Chaos prevailed at around 5 am as people rushed to the site while staff from the electricity department worked feverishly to trace the damaged cable.
Sources told The Goan that the contractor damaged underground power cables during excavation work at around 12.30 am on Thursday, immediately disrupting power supply to Sada, Bogda, Baina and Mangor.
The electricity department rushed to the spot and stopped the work of the contractor. Assistant Engineer Sanjeev Mhalshekar also filed a police complaint against the contractor and directed the police to issue directions to the contractor to immediately stop all work.
A large number of people from the affected areas also marched to the site and there were chaotic moments at around 5 am, even as the Electricity Department struggled to find the fault till late Thursday evening.
While Mhalshekar had initially assured that power would be restored by 6 pm, work to repair the damaged cables was hampered due to pre-monsoon rains and the electricity staff had to get a tent to continue the work.
Speaking to media persons, Mhalshekar said the contractor had damaged all the three underground cables during excavation work.
"We have three main cables at this site from Kadamba bus stand substation to the Harbour and Bogda feeder. We had alerted them about the presence of the cables but they did not inform us and began works and damaged the cables.”
“The damage disconnected power to Vasco, Sada, Bogda, Baina and Mangor but we managed to get the power restored in Vasco. As of now, we have already filed a police complaint against the contractor and have stopped his works. We have told the contractor not to start any work without tracking, which is like using chalk to mark the power cables," said Mhalshekar.
