Rain brings only short-lived cheer as power cuts prevail

Though the muchawaited rain with hailstorm on Thursday was welcomed by residents, it brought along power cuts, leaving residents fretting.

Even before the rain started, electricity in many parts of the city was gone. The thunderstorm also caused damages to some electricity poles and wires. However, no major damage was reported.

Several areas, such as Agar Nagar, Gurdev Nagar, Singhpura Mohalla, many parts of Haibowal, Clock Tower and Chandigarh Road remained without power till Friday morning. Residents of Gurdev Nagar suffered most as power was not restored even till Friday evening.

“There was rain, but power outage through the night caused huge inconvenience,” said Savita, a resident of Agar Nagar. She said they called the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) many times, but to no avail, as power was resumed only at 6am.

Rashpal Singh, chief engineer, PSPCL central zone Ludhiana, said the department officials remained on toes through the night. He said a lot of wires and electricity poles got damaged because of heavy hailstorm and winds. Many poles fell on the roads, and therefore it took some time for the department to restore power, he added.

He said, “If the municipal corporation could have provided us help in lifting the fallen trees, etc., on the wires, we could have completed our work faster.”

Mean while, the showers brought down the mercury from 42.7°C on Thursday to 39.6°C on Friday, giving much respite to residents from the scorching heat.

The weather remained occasionally cloudy and humid on Friday.

More rain, along with thunderstorm, is expected on Saturday.

DONKEY ELECTROCUTED

A donkey was electrocuted in Singhpura Mohalla on Thursday due to faulty wiring in a roadside electricity pole.

The residents said the spot where the donkey died was used by many residents to park their vehicles before going to the cantonment area.

“The spot is a threat to human lives as well, as many children come to play here. Such accidents happen every rainy season, but the wires remain damaged and no replacement has been done by the PSPCL,” said Ratan Singh, a resident.