the goan I network
MAPUSA
Dozens of trees were uprooted, houses damaged, power supply disrupted and traffic affected, as heavy rains and squalls struck most parts of Bardez taluka on Monday evening.
Strong winds brought down an estimated 50 trees in Mapusa and Bardez, while also disrupting power from 3 pm onwards.
The thunder showers accompanied began at about 3 pm in Bardez taluka and among the worst affected areas were Dangi Colony, Khorlim, Duler, Shelpem and Karaswada in Mapusa, Siolim, Camurlim, Revora and Tivim.
“Mapusa has faced the brunt of the mini-cyclone, with the entire city plunged in darkness. Several electricity poles have broken and many 11KV transformers have been damaged,” said executive engineer Pradip Narvekar.
“We are trying our best to restore power at least in the market area,” said Narvekar.
Roof tiles of several houses in Tivim and Colvale were blown off, while the cyclone gave Calangute and Saligao the miss, as there were no complaints of tree falling and power was normal in these areas. Siolim-Marna and Oxell villages in Siolim constituency were also partly affected
The fire services attended to several calls of trees getting uprooted and falling on houses, electricity poles and on roads.
Uprooted trees led to the disruption of traffic along the Mapusa-Bicholim road for about 2 hours and traffic was diverted along alternative routes.
Several areas were without power supply for several hours and the electricity department is expected to incur losses which could run into several lakhs of rupees.
