Rain hits power supply in many Lucknow areas
LUCKNOW : Power supply of more than half of the city was thrown out of gear after rain on Sunday evening. This exposed the preparations of Lucknow Electricity Supply Administration (LESA) for upcoming Diwali festival.
In some areas, there was no power due to falling of trees and broken wires. Power failure were witnessed from areas around Gomti Nagar to Alambagh. Complaints of broken wires were received from Alambagh, Chander Nagar, Chota Barha and Bada Barha areas. Power outages were also reported from Nadarganj, Banthara, Itaunja, Mal, Malihabad, Rahimabad, Rahimabad, Laulai and Mulayam Nagar etc.
“Following rain, many areas suffer prolonged power outages every year. Why can LESA not prepare itself for rain and storms? Why can it not purchase mechanised wood cutters to cut the wood logs once they fall on power lines. Also, special teams must be prepared to repair the faults immediately after the storms,” said UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad chairman Avadhesh Kumar Verma.
“LESA spends crores of rupees on maintenance of its infrastructure every year but it never purchases advanced equipment which would reduce the complaint redress time. They are repairing faults with age-old bamboo ladders instead of automatic vehicle mounted ladders,” he claimed.
Chief engineer, LESA (Cis Gomti) Madhukar Varma said, “LESA staff always remain alert and they attend the faults immediately. However, LESA workers attend faults in the narrowest of lanes and so we will have to keep the ladders too along with vehicle-mounted ones for wider roads.”
“However, LESA is preparing to ensure uninterrupted power supply during Diwali. We are also ensuring maintenance of lines and transformers. Besides, trees around (power) lines are also being trimmed,” he added.