Chennai sources stated that rains, winds, mud and waterlogged areas in the open fields are no hurdle for these Tamilnadu Electricity Board (TNEB) men, striving hard to restore power in cyclone hit areas. Meanwhile despite the dampness all around, sleeping under the open sky and sometimes forced to even have their food perched atop poles, these TNEB men are exhausting themselves by clearing damaged and broken poles and replacing them with new ones in the affected areas.
Furthermore as cyclone ‘Gaja’ uprooted over one lakh electric poles in the delta and southern districts, TNEB staff are working round the clock to restore power in those villages and towns that went without power for the past nine days. Presently slowly their untiring efforts have started to show results, since around 70% of work has been completed in the stretch between Nagapattinam and Velankanni.
Previously preliminary reports stated that a total of 84,836 poles were affected with around 1,152 km of high tension lines and 3,087 km of low tension lines snapped. Moreover in addition, a total of 841 distribution transformers have been damaged. Over all, 1,13,566 electric poles were damaged. Recently Tangedco officials claim that about 70% of works relating to power restoration was completed and normalcy would return in the next two to three days.
