Power crisis: Chandigarh to probe 'sabotage'

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Chandigarh, February 23

The UT Administration “strongly suspects” that the power supply was sabotaged by employees of the Electricity Department and has ordered a probe to nail powermen’s claim that they had no role in power disruption.

Sources said the relay setting (electrically operated switch) in substations was tampered with to make power supply feeders faulty so that less current flew and the electric circuit got overloaded. Feeders are the power lines through which electricity is transmitted in power systems.

The blackout was the result of power tripping from these substations due to overloaded electric circuits. At several places, high tension wires were fused to render the entire locality without electricity, the sources said. A senior UT official said the fuse was found removed at several places in the city, which plunged the city into darkness.

The Army team that was requisitioned to restore the power supply found several faults and damage in the transmission lines and transmission system. Official from the engineering wing of the UT said several faults were detected outside substations in the city, pointing towards mischief played by protesting employees.

UT Adviser Dharam Pal said, “The police will probe the suspected sabotage across the city and take action accordingly.”

The sources said the fault finding system of the UT Electricity Department was also found malfunctioning, which further led to a delay in restoring the power supply.

Hospital supply cut: Engg Secy to probe

The UT Administration has directed the Engineering Secretary to conduct an inquiry into the sudden disruption of power at the GMCH, Sector 32, and the GMSH, Sector 16, on the intervening night of February 21 and 22.