Downpour, gusty winds damage 45 power poles in Yadgir district

A sudden downpour coupled with gusty winds and hailstones late on Tuesday night and in the early hours of Wednesday disrupted power supply at various places in Yadgir district as 45 electricity poles broke down.

Electricity poles broke down in both rural and urban areas of the district, including Yadgir and Shorapur divisions.

According to official sources, of the 45 damaged poles, 36 are in Yadgir division, including Yadgir, Gurmitkal and Wadagera sub-divisions, and nine are in Shorapur division, comprising Shorapur, Shahapur and Hunsagi sub-divisions.

The entire Yadgir city and several surrounding villages went without power supply from Tuesday night till Wednesday morning as electricity cables snapped after trees fell on them in various places.

GESCOM staff, however, restored electricity supply in major localities in the city and also the rural areas after a couple of hours. The exact loss is being estimated.

Standing crops have suffered damage in heavy rain in Yadgir district.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

As power supply was disrupted after heavy rain, there was a likelihood of webcasting of the SSLC examination being affected on Wednesday morning. However, GESCOM officers and other staff restored electricity supply to the examination centres by clearing technical hurdles after hours of struggle.

Executive Engineers Raghavendra and Rajshekhar of Yadgir and Shorapur divisions told The Hindu that cables were extensively damaged due to falling trees in Yadgir division, while the intensity of damage was less in Shorapur division.

Meanwhile, gusty winds and hailstones damaged standing crops of white jowar and paddy crops in several parts of the district.

“Farmers, who were to harvest jowar any time now, are facing extensive damage. The State government should order a joint survey and release compensation to the affected farmers,” the former ZP member Srinivas Reddy Patil Channur has said.

There was heavy rainfall in several rural pockets of the district on Wednesday afternoon too, causing additional worry to farmers.