Outages due to inundation: Preventive step leads to fresh challenges in city
kolkata: To avert incidents of electrocution, the CESC on Wednesday cut off power supply to various waterlogged pockets in the city as a precautionary measure following the instructions of the state government.
Though the step was welcomed by large numbers of denizens, residents of some localities, where there wasn't significant waterlogging, had to bear the brunt of prolonged power cuts.
Incidentally, the city has witnessed a series of incidents of electrocutions in recent times.
A week back, two 12-year-old girls had died of electrocution in Dum Dum as they came in contact with an iron post wrapped with a live wire. Few months ago, a youth was electrocuted in front of Raj Bhavan.
The 25-year-old was wading through a waterlogged road opposite Raj Bhawan. Within a gap of a few days, two separate incidents of electrocutions occurred in the southern fringes of the city.
In the wake of these incidents, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and the state government machinery had issued necessary instructions to the CESC. CESC has also informed people about the situation in a series of tweets on Wednesday.
"Due to water-logging as a result of incessant rainfall and out of abundant caution considering public safety, supply to the following areas have been switched-off for the time being:- Joka,Kalagachia,Mominpore, Bhukailash Road,Remount Road, Tajiapukur Road,Golab Molla Lane," it tweeted.
"Shimpukur Lane, Gulzarbag, Padirhati,Fatehpur,Taratala, Umesh Niyogi Road, Baishnabghata, I R Belilious Lane, Srikissen Bhakat Lane, Panchanantala,Kaliprasad Banerjee Lane,Trenching Ground Road, Upen Banerjee Road, Bonomali Naskar Road,Parnasree, Kalinagar,Alampur,Ekbalpore...," read the tweet further.
Meanwhile, people living in lesser-inundated areas faced inconvenience as the power supply remained disrupted for long hours.
For instance, people residing near Baranagar Police Station had to face trouble as supply was tripped for the entire area. "We have switched off the power supply in various regions as per the directives of the state government," said Joyneel Mukherjee, on behalf of CESC.
Meanwhile, experts opined that such situations can be avoided if live wires hanging from electric poles, which are a major reason for electrocution, are properly covered.
