Tower collapse: 30 hours on, Zirakpur residents still powerless

Following the collapse of three power towers around 7.30 pm on Wednesday, power was switched off at the IT City, Ramgarh Bhudda and Pabhat grids, wiping out supply to several areas in Zirakpur

A day after strong winds damaged power towers at Badi village on Airport Road on Wednesday evening, more rain on Thursday dented power department’s efforts to restore electricity, leaving several adjoining areas powerless for 30 hours straight.

PSPCL officials and workers working on repairing the power towers that collapsed at Badi village near Airport Road in Mohali following strong winds. (Sanjeev Sharma/HT)

Following the collapse of three power towers around 7.30 pm on Wednesday, power was switched off at the IT City, Ramgarh Bhudda and Pabhat grids, wiping out supply to Bhabat, Lohgarh, VIP Road, Balaji Enclave, Guru Nanak Nagar, Abheypur, Chhat village and Singhpura areas in Zirakpur.

Though PSPCL employees worked through the day to repair the damage, there was no electricity till the filing of the report, leaving residents vexed.

PSPCL chief engineer Sandeep Gupta said, “Over 100 electricians are working to restore power. Some areas are being provided supply from alternative grids. While the issue will be largely resolved by Thursday night, entire restoration will take a couple of days more.”

Meanwhile, in a double whammy for residents, the power outage was combined with no water supply. “We have been without electricity and water since Wednesday evening. We are unable to charge our mobile phones and laptops, so we cannot work from home or even handle household chores,” said Anuradha Singh, a resident of Zirakpur.