KOLKATA: The worst cyclone that Kolkata has faced in recent memory literally turned into the city’s darkest calamity with power utilities switching off supply to large swathes of the city, adjoining Salt Lake as well as the rest of North 24 Parganas district, South 24 Parganas, parts of Howrah, Hooghly and West Midnapore.
While it is a common practice for utilities to shut supply to localities served by overhead lines to prevent flashovers, short-circuits and electrocution, it was the first time that power in large parts of Kolkata that has an underground cable network was also closed. However, supply in these areas were restored after a couple of hours later, when the eye of the storm led to a 45-minute lull.
In Kolkata, lamp posts and traffic signals lay uprooted across the city. In the Tollygunge-Garia belt and Behala-Haridevpur, which is served by overhead supply, snapped power lines were reported from multiple localities. CESC officials said restoration work would begin only once the cyclone had passed and winds and rain subsided.
