Residents of six villages and many hamlets in Mudigere taluk, one of taluks worst-hit by floods and landslips in southern Karantaka, continue to live in the dark as the work on restoring power supply is progressing slowly because of lack of road connectivity. Hundreds of electricity poles were washed away in the floods, forcing Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (MESCOM) officials to bring in new poles and restore the power lines.
People living in villages such as Malleshana Gudda, Madhugundi, Halladka, Krishna Nivasa, Tatkola and Channahadlu still do not have power supply. Similar is the case of many hamlets such as Mallahalli, Aravinda Kere, and Mandala Dinni for the past 15 days. Farmers have not been able to run their pump sets and students cannot read after sunset. The locals are clueless about how long this ordeal will last. “We charge our mobile phones when we reach nearby villages such as Banakal or Kottigehara, where there is power,” said Byraiah of Channahadlu village.
According to officials, Kalasa section has seen the highest number of damaged electricity poles. Of the 706 such poles, officials are yet to restore 150.
K. Shivakumar, executive engineer of MESCOM (Chikkamagaluru division), told The Hindu that his staff members were finding it difficult to carry electricity p oles to many villages as roads have been damaged. “Each electricity pole weighs around 450 kg. We can carry only two poles in a tractor. When there is no road to take our tractors, how can we reach [the villages]?”
Many are working overtime to restore power supply. Girish, a lineman attached to Banakal section, said he has been working from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. “We have been working hard, yet there is a lot of work to be done,” he said.
