Dimapur, June 15 (MExN): “Our road network, the power systems, as also the coverage of the various social services, such as schools, hospitals and the water supply systems are comparable to most other parts of India,” reads an excerpt of Minister of Industries & Commerce, S. Pangnyu Phom’s speech during his address at the ‘India-Cambodia Business Conclave’ at Phnom Penh, Cambodia on June 13. However rosy the Minister may paint Nagaland and its infrastructure to the wider world, the reality, with particular reference to the words – ‘the power systems’, is simply miserable.
In stark contrast to the Minister’s words, the power infrastructure in Nagaland is utterly under-equipped. For, the Power department has time and again stated that the present power infrastructure of Nagaland is not equipped enough to withstand the peak demand of 100-plus megawatts (MW), if at all the State receives the quantum of electricity it requires. Further, transmission equipments going kaput resulting from overloading are frequent occurrences. Dimapur, the so-called commercial hub of Nagaland stands testimony to this reality.
To cite June 14 as an instance, it was a harrowing day for consumers drawing power from Burma camp sub-station. Three feeders (power lines) – Nagarjan back-feeder, Airport feeder and Purana Bazaar feeder, emanating from the sub-station went defunct. One got snapped, it was learned. Workers were able to restore two of the faulty lines hours later, while the third could be restored only the next day.
Trouble was not to end there and then however. The next day, a 33 KV line emanating from the State Load Dispatch Centre at Nagarjan encountered a fault at around 6:00 pm blacking out the entire area west of the railway track passing through the town. The line, according to a department official, feeds Metha and Industrial Estate sub-stations.
Workers were able to locate the fault an hour later but they encountered resistance from residents when they approached the site to start repairs, the official said. According to the official, the 33 KV line in question passes through Mishikito colony, adjacent to Power House colony, Full Nagarjan. The residents of the Mishikito confronted the workers with certain demands delaying restoration work, the official said. The demands were for ‘extension of LT line and more importantly, raising the height of the high-tension lines passing through the locality citing safety concerns.
The impasse could be resolved only at around 9:00 pm after which repair works started. The official said that restoring the line might not be until midnight.
Also, on June 13, the transformer at Metha sub-station faced an oil leakage affecting supply eventually earning the wrath of consumers, who are reeling under an immense heat wave the past few days.
Disproportionate increase in power drawal with no corresponding upgrading of the available equipment is causing transmission equipments to overload ultimately leading to break downs.
Meanwhile, Power department officials have appealed the consumers to bear with the inconveniences while stating that the department is trying their best to maintain stable supply of power. If not for the unforeseen breakdowns, supply is stable enough to provide atleast 15-16 hours of power a day, an official said.
