An accidental fire in the 10 MVA power station at Betagera on the outskirts of Sedam town on Thursday night resulted in a total blackout in the town and more than 21 surrounding villages.
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Sources in the Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company said the fire which started in an old transformer later spread fast to the bigger transformers, causing extensive damage to the power station. The estimated loss was more than Rs. 2 crore.
Fire extinguishers from Vasavadatta Cement Plant and the Fire and Emergency station in Sedam town battled for more than an hour to put down the blaze. The GESCOM officials said that it would take at least two days to fully restore power supply in the affected areas. Temporary arrangements were being made to restore power partially in the affected areas by this evening.
Apart from Sedam town, Betagera (B), Betagera (K), Surur, Ranjol, Telkur, Kurkunta, Muganur, Hidga, Kachur, Chatapatanahalli, Kukkunda, Survar and other villages were without power since last night. The Vasavadatta Cement Plant has also been without regular power from GESCOM and the plant was operating with the power generated from the co-generating thermal power plant inside the factory.
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Senior GESCOM officials who rushed to Betagera from Kalaburagi city on Thursday night were camping at the site supervising the restoration activities. “We are making efforts to restore normal power to all the affected places”, they said.