The Hindu : Front Page : Tough terrain puts TNEB staff in a spot

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 25, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Tough terrain puts TNEB staff in a spot

D. Radhakrishnan

Udhagamandalam: Howling winds and heavy rain in the last few weeks here have put the staff of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) in an unenviable position.

Normally the officials and workers are prepared for any eventuality, said the Executive Engineer, Nilgiris Electricity Distribution Circle, T. Haldorai. But nature caught them off guard last month. Even as the men were in a state of preparedness to remove a few trees and set right fallen poles, the rate at which uprooted trees fell on high tension lines seriously hampered restoration work.

While extra high tension lines were snapped by uprooted trees near Hindustan Photo Films, Venkatraman bridge, Thalaikundah and Kattabettu, 70 steel poles of high tension feeders and as many as 250 poles of low tension lines were damaged by falling trees. Conductors were either cut or damaged over a stretch of about 15 km.

Despite constraints, supply had been restored to 98 per cent of the affected areas, Mr. Haldorai said. However, as against a sanctioned strength of 1,600 employees, the Circle was managing with 615. The contribution of contract workers was significant.

With the terrain being as hostile as the weather, workers were finding it difficult to set right damaged structures. The loss caused to TNEB by the recent rain was an estimated Rs. 25 lakh, he said.

Pointing out that despite repairs power supply to some areas continued to be erratic. The official attributed this to the continuing squally conditions. Answering a question, Mr. Haldorai said removing trees standing along high tension and low tension lines would provide a temporary solution to problems caused by the weather. He said that running such lines underground to the extent possible would provide a lasting solution to the problem. The official conceded that it would be an expensive proposition but added that it could be done in a phased manner. Serious thought should be given to this matter since the contribution of the Nilgiris to the State’s grid was about 10 per cent and the cost of generation in the Nilgiris was low.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page