VALPOI
Power supply was finally restored to the remote Surla in Thane-Sattari after three days, much to the relief of residents in the village but there are growing calls for old power lines to be replaced with aerial bunched cables.
A three-day power outage in Surla had led to disruption in mobile network services and water shortage, prompting angry locals to march to the electricity office in Valpoi on Friday.
Department officials had explained that the cause of the power outage in Surla was the damage to the Tive-Thane power cable which passes through a forest.
Officials were also busy probing the death of a lineman on duty at Kankire-Sattari, making it difficult to restore the power supply to Surla in quick time.
Electricity department staff worked to repair the fault and power was finally restored sometime around Friday midnight.
Locals claimed that the electricity wires along the Thane-Rive alignment have become old and lead to frequent power outages in Rive, Golauli, Dongurli and Surla.
When contacted, Assistant Engineer Deepak Gawas said work to repair the power lines had started on Friday morning.
“The power lines were damaged in many places due to the dense forest and continuous rains had hampered the repair work. Power supply was restored to Surla by about 11 pm,” said Gawas.
Speaking to reporters, locals claimed the power lines were old and needed replacement.
“There are frequent power outages, especially during monsoons, causing severe difficulties to residents in Surla, Rive, Dongurli and neighbouring villages,” said one resident.
“The electricity department should replace these old wires with aerial bunched cables, which are more durable, to ensure better power supply to all these affected villages.”
