Berhampur: Even as three days have passed since the cyclonic storm Titli smashed the state, power supply is yet to be restored in many areas of Gajapati and Ganjam district.
Power supply and road communication have been severely hit in both the districts. Power lines got snapped at many places as uprooted trees and broken branches fell on them under the impact of the gale.
As a precaution, Southco had disconnected power supply since Wednesday. As per the preliminary reports of Southco engineers, around 120 electric poles, including 55 in Berhampur town, have been uprooted when the wind swept the area at a speed of over 125 kmph.
“Without power, our mobile phones have switched off. We are not able to contact our families who are outside working in other states and are worried. They might also be calling us and panicking,” a resident said.
Similarly, at least 15 transformers burst in different places, including five in Berhampur, due to the cyclone. Besides Berhampur, substantial damage to power infrastructure was also reported from Aska, Hinjili, Purushottampur, Bada Madhapur and Kodala.
Extensive damage to power infrastructure was also reported from various places in Gajapati district as wind speed was very high under the influence of Titli. The exact damage to power infrastructure was yet to be assessed due to disruption of road communication in the area, officials said. The restoration work was hit due to incessant rain accompanied by high velocity wind, they said.
As uprooted trees blocked several roads in the two districts, connectivity was virtually thrown out of gear in both Ganjam and Gajapati. In Ganjam, road communication from Berhampur to Aska, Gopalpur, Chahtrapur and Purushptampur was disrupted for several hours.
In Berhampur, roadside trees were uprooted due to high speed wind since Wednesday night. Roads wore a pathetic look with huge logs, tree branches, electric poles and wires scattered all over.
Ganjam Collector Vijay Amrita Kulange said fire brigade and ODARF personnel were engaged in clearing the roads.
Major roads, including the National Highway, were cleared on a war footing, he said, adding damage to houses and loss of standing crops are yet to be assessed.
PNN
