Cyclone Yaas: Preventive measures by Odisha Energy Dept minimised damages, says official

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], May 27 (ANI): The impact of Cyclone Yaas on Odisha's electricity supply infrastructure was minimised significantly because of timely action by the state Energy Department, said an official.
The Department had been planning in advance for a possible summer cyclone in the month of May and damages to Low Tension (LT) network could be minimised due to preventive maintenance, tree pruning, and other precautionary steps in advance, said Principal Secretary, Energy Nikunja Bihari Dhal on Wednesday.
"We had meticulously planned and positioned men, materials and equipment at strategic locations to begin restoration work immediately after the cyclone recedes" he stated.
The Department had also stationed emergency restoration systems at Balasore, Bhadrak and Kendrapara, but the 220 and 132 kV transmission systems of OPTCL (Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited) remained largely unaffected.
The Department had made advanced planning to restore power supply to hospitals, oxygen filling units, telephone exchanges and water supply systems, and important public offices on priority.
All COVID hospitals and oxygen filling units of the TPCODL (TP Central Odisha Distribution Limited) have power supply by now, including those in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara towns too, Dhal said on Wednesday, adding that the Twin City of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack remained mostly unaffected.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has also directed that power supply be restored to at least 80 percent of affected consumers in next 24 hours.
He also announced seven-day relief for all families of 128 marooned villages of the Cyclone Yaas-affected districts and congratulated all the Panchayat representatives, district administrations, community organisations, and the police for their excellent work in evacuation.
As of 5:30 am on Thursday, the deep depression lay centred over south Jharkhand and the neighbourhood, and is likely to move northwards and weaken gradually into a depression in the next six hours, the India Meteorological Department informed. (ANI)