Cyclone Remal damages infrastructure worth Rs 2.50 crore in Tripura

Agartala: Tripura Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Tuesday said that electricity infrastructure worth Rs 2.50 crores was destroyed across the state due to cyclone Remal.

According to the Power Minister, the power system was damaged "very badly" across the state, including in the capital Agartala. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an Orange Alert for Tripura on Tuesday and stated that thunderstorms with lightning are very likely to occur in many districts.

Nath disclosed that 668 electric poles were destroyed, 234km lines were powerless, wires were damaged, and 82 transformers also stopped working amid the havoc created by the cyclone. "As per preliminary estimation, the loss amount is around Rs 2.50 crores, and reports are coming from other places as well", said Nath.

The minister said, "Amidst this war-like situation, the power department workers and officials worked in different places. In many places, trees are uprooted causing damage to electricity wires. In all sub-divisions, we have deployed additional teams to restore the power. In Agartala, we are hopeful we can repair around 80% of the damage today. And in other places, we can do around 50% repair."

Stressing that the Manik Saha-led government's priority is "human lives", Nath said that they have disconnected power lines during rains and storms to save both human and animal lives. 

Giving details about complaints, the minister said, "On May 23, we received 554 complaints, among which 529 were settled. On May 24, 588 complaints were received while 570 were settled. On May 25, among 579 complaints, 540 were settled. On May 26, the power department received 662 complaints of which 625 were settled."

"On May 27, during the cyclone, we received 1,384 complaints, 647 were settled, and today, we received 777 complaints and so far 340 have been settled," he told reporters.

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