Rain subsides in Kerala; Relief & Rehabilitation intensifies in Assam and Bihar

Source: ddnews.gov.in

In Kerala, red alert for rain has been withdrawn from all the districts in the state. After a week of heavy downpour, intensity of rain has now reduced.

According to the met department, extremely heavy rainfall is not predicted anywhere in the state for the coming days, however isolated heavy rainfall is still predicted in some areas. 

Heavy rain is expected in Kannur and Kasargod. 

Four people have died so far in the state.

In Bihar too, significant improvement has been registered in flood situation. As rains stopped, rivers are also on receding trend. In Darbhanga, large areas are still submerged and which is hampering normal life. 

With fields and villages inundated, people are still using boats to move around. Administration has also put greater focus on relief and rehabilitation measures. People who had moved to safer places and highlands, have also started returning to their homes.

In Motihari and Madhubani, floods have left behind a long trail destruction. Large areas are still inundated while heavy losses to property have been reported. Those who had shifted to safer places are have a long road to restart. Administration is putting a greater focus on relief and rehabilitation.

In Muzaffarpur, camps are being set up to provide necessary assistance to flood affected. Those in need of medical care are also visiting the camps and are getting the required help.

In Assam, relief and rehabilitation measures are being intensified following the improvement in flood situation. t hough rivers are receding, flood water in parts of the state continues to affect normal life. In Bongaigaon, heavy rains in the past few days have severely affected roads which causing hardships to locals. In some areas, people are still using boats to move around. The assessment of damage caused to houses is currently on.

A free medical camp was organized by Joypur Army Camp, Dao Division, under Operation Sadbhavana, 2019 in Neul Goan and its adjoining villages. A large number of flood affected people and sick persons were treated and free medicines were distributed at the health camp. The health camp was conducted by three doctors, one from army and two from Jorhat Medical College & Hospital. Few villagers have return to their respective village after the condition has returned to near normalcy.

Coal town hope for power relief soon

Source: telegraphindia.com

The coal capital’s power woes, centred around a shortfall of 60MW, could be resolve within the next three months as efforts are on to fix a 250MW power grid sub-station that could not be commissioned due to pending forest clearances.

According to highly placed sources in Jharkhand Urja Sancharan Limited, the distribution arm of the state power conglomerate, an NOC has been received for laying cables from the sub-station at Kandra in Govindpur, and hook it up with the Dumka power grid.

Work on laying cables and erecting towers, the sources said, would begin on June 17 and be completed by July 17. Similarly, work to lay cables and erect towers to connect the Kandra sub-station with the Lalpania power grid of Tenughat Vidyut Nigam (TVNL) in Bokaro is likely to the completed within tree months.

A senior official at Jharkhand Urja Sancharan said once the work was over, the Kandra sub-station would be able to draw around 50MW from the Dumka grid. The remaining 10 MW could be sourced from TVNL’s Lalpania grid.

Currently, Dhanbad gets around 212MW from Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) instead of the required 272MW, leading to a shortfall of around 60MW.

“In fact, we can draw any amount of power from the Lalpania power grid of TVNL, ranging from the required 10MW to a maximum of 200 MW, during complete disruption of power supply from DVC,” said Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam (JBVNL) superintending engineer Vinay Kumar.

Dhanbad in-charge GM of JBVNL Amarnath Jha said they would be able to provide 24-hour power supply to Dhanbad once the Kandra power grid sub-station was operational, thereby reducing dependence on DVC.

“A shortfall of around 50MW will be met. Other issues affecting power supply due to dependence on DVC, like frequent load-shedding and delayed fault repair, would also be taken care of once the power grid sub-station is ready,” he told the media on Monday after a meeting with Congress leaders led by district president Brajendra Prasad Singh, who lodged a complaint with him about the dismal power situation.

Then energy minister Rajendra Singh had laid the foundation of the sub-station at Kandra Industrial Area in Govindpur in December 2013 in the presence of then animal husbandry minister Mannan Mallick and former Tundi MLA Mathura Prasad Mahto.

But mandatory forest clearances, required for felling trees to pave the way for laying cables and erecting towers to connect the Kandra sub-station with Dumka and Lalapnia power grids did not come, thereby delaying the project.

Currently, JBVNL draws around 212 MW from six feeders of DVC: Putki for Dhanbad and Katras, Patherdih for Jharia and its surrounding areas, Bhetia for suburban areas of Dhanbad town, Kumardubi for Kumbardhubi and its surrounding areas like Chirkunda, and Maithon for Nirsa, Mugma and its surrounding areas.

But recurring faults in the feeder sub-stations have led to a perennial power crisis for which JBVNL has been receiving flak from residents of the region.

“While the connection with the Dumka power grid will help to immediately draw around 50 MW, the connection with the Lalpania power grid of TVNL, which is also connected to the national power grid in Bihar, will help to draw more power to meet the requirement,” explained the official.