Ranchi: Continuous rain accompanied by squall-like winds battered the city’s power network overnight, uprooting trees, snapping high-tension lines and bringing down electricity poles across several areas. Several localities plunged into darkness late on Thursday, with the disruption continuing till Friday evening.The outages varied in duration but affected residential and industrial pockets. HEC Sector 1 remained without electricity for over 15 hours, while Tupudana and Tatisilwai faced blackouts lasting more than 10 hours. Piska More, ITI, Bajra, Pandra, Hinoo, Kokar, Lalpur, Madhukam, Pahari Mandir and Kanke Road remained without power from Friday morning till late evening.At a review meeting held at its corporate headquarters on Friday, Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) said Ranchi and Bokaro had suffered severe damage to lines and poles after trees fell on the network. The headquarters directed senior officials to monitor restoration work and instructed officers posted at capital area substations to remain on-site until all feeders were fully restored.JBVNL teams were deployed across affected divisions to clear uprooted trees, splice snapped cables and replace damaged poles. Persistent drizzle, however, slowed restoration work and made it difficult to reach several stretches.JBVNL Ranchi Supply Area Board general manager Manmohan Kumar said, “The outages are mainly due to trees being uprooted and falling on electricity infrastructure, including poles and wires.”He added, “We have deployed teams across all affected areas. They are working continuously to remove the trees and repair the damaged infrastructure so that power can be restored in a phased manner.”The storm disrupted normal life as smartphones and laptops ran out of charge, affecting remote work and communication. In high-rises and standalone homes, overhead tanks ran dry as electric pumps remained out of service. Kitchens were also affected as households dependent on induction cooktops, microwaves, kettles and water purifiers struggled to prepare meals. Inverters and batteries provided limited relief. The prolonged outage also disrupted water supply and essential household routines.Resident Pradeep Sinha said, “Power supply fails the moment heavy rain hits. Every year, officials promise better infrastructure, yet prolonged power cuts remain a constant reality. Drained inverters and dead phones have disrupted routine household work completely.”
