Major parts of western Odisha were plunged into darkness after a huge thunder squall snapped power lines on Saturday night. The massive blackout continued on Sunday even as repair and restoration works were on.
Sundargarh, Sonepur, Kalahandi, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Deogarh and Jharsuguda districts were the worst affected by the storm that swept across the western parts around 9.30 pm, strong winds blowing away roofs of several houses and uprooting trees in Jharsuguda and Deogarh districts.
Authorities of power supplier Gridco said many 11kv and 33kv lines were damaged. The Budipadadar grid near Jharsuguda collapsed altogether. As a result, power production at Sterlite Energy of Vedanta, Odisha Hydropower Corporation’s powerhouse in Burla and Odisha Power Generation Corporation’s Banaharpali units in Jharsuguda district stopped power generation. “Since the grid collapsed, the generation units stopped automatically. Repair and restoration work is on. We hope normalcy will return by Sunday evening,” said Gridco director (commercial) P K Pradhan.
