Cyclone Biparjoy: Works to restore power supply in Guj's Jamnagar

JAMNAGAR: Strong winds and rain from cyclone Biparjoy have caused a power failure in Gujarat's Jamnagar district. PGVCL (Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited) teams are in action mode on Friday to restore the issue. Presently, 119 teams of PGVCL are working in the Jamnagar district.

Due to strong winds, 958 feeders, 1255 electric poles and 40 TC (Current Transformers) have been damaged in the district.

LK Parmar, PGVCL Superintendent Engineer for Jamnagar pocket informed that more than 1200 electric poles fell in Jamnagar and more than 2700 poles have fallen in Devbhumi Dwarka.

Currently, Devbhumi Dwarka is in a complete blackout. "We have started an assessment to start the electricity line. 150 teams are working in Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar," he added while speaking to ANI.

LK Parmar further informed that PGVCL has faced 8.32 crores of loss of property as per the assessment completed by 10 am on Friday. Out of the damaged property, 414 feeders, 221 electric poles and one TC were made operational immediately.

The power supply was restored in 367 villages of Jamnagar district. The one current transformer that was made functional promptly was located in Kalavad taluka of Jamnagar. To prevent any risk to life, the power supply has been put on hold in 226 villages.

PGVCL teams are working at other places where power has been disrupted. In places where the power supply has been disrupted, operations have been started on a war footing by 119 teams of PGVCL. Fortunately, no death has been reported so far in Jamnagar due to the Biparjoy cyclone. Six people have received minor injuries and three kutcha houses have been damaged.

Around 1,230 electric poles have been damaged and 164 trees have fallen. No road has been closed in the district due to the advance planning of the Road and Building Construction Department.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel held a meeting at the State Emergency Operations Center in Gandhinagar on Friday to take stock of the situation in the state in the wake of Cyclone Biparjoy's landfall.

The Gujarat CM ordered the District Collectors of affected areas to conduct surveys to assess the damage in their districts. According to IMD officials, the Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) hit the Kutch coast on Thursday night around 10:30-11:30 pm, about 10 km north of Jakhau Port. It has since weakened into a Severe Cyclonic Storm (SCS) and is predicted to weaken further over the next few hours.

The morning after the landfall continued to show high-speed winds, heavy rainfall and rough sea conditions in various districts of Gujarat. Due to strong winds, the districts experienced damage in terms of infrastructure and the falling of electric poles and trees.

High-speed winds uprooted trees and caused road blockages and property damage in areas like Bhuj, Mandvi, Dwarka, Jamnagar, Lakhpat, Kutch district, and Naliya. NDRF reports showed that at least 23 people had been injured and 24 animal lives were lost as an impact of the landfall.

Two people were killed before the landfall, and no human deaths have been reported thereafter. Meanwhile, around 108208 people were evacuated safely from affected districts by the district authority, NDRF, SDRF, Indian Armed Force and other official teams. A team in Dwarka rescued two stranded individuals from the low-lying areas of Rupen Bandar. State and district officials stated that several disaster response, restoration, rescue, and relief teams were prepared to be on standby amidst the circumstances of the storm.

Apart from this, 20 teams from the Health Department are also active all over the state. According to the latest IMD bulletin, the cyclone is currently centred about 30 km from Bhuj. It is predicted to weaken into a deep depression over Saurashtra-Kutch, southern Rajasthan and adjoining areas by Friday evening.

The State Meteorological Department has issued an alert for rainfall for Saturday as well. Rainfall and wind warnings have been issued throughout the state, with certain heavy impact areas on alert. "Cyclone Biparjoy has moved east-northeastwards and is centred 30 km from Bhuj in Gujarat. By evening, it will convert into a deep depression over Saurashtra and Kutch and adjoining areas with wind speed 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph", said IMD.