Fearing that a technical fault could cripple Sidhi district with power outage, MPPTCL engineers river-paddled around 2 km to remedy the situation in record time.
In a release, MPPTCL said that engineers and technical personnel of the state power utility traveled about 2 km in a small boat to fix a technical fault of a transmission tower in the reservoir of Katka Dam in Basa village, Jaisingh Nagar, Shahdol district. The boat was arranged from as far as 35 km. Power supply of Sidhi district was thus saved from a potentially long interruption.
On the night of November 17, 2022, there was disturbance in the 220kV EHV line coming from the Amarkantak powerhouse. Though MPPTCL kept the power supply uninterrupted by sourcing supply from the 220kV Rewa substation, there was a possibility of an supply interruption to the Sidhi district had a circuit fault in this diversion occurred.
MPPTCL officials traced the fault to a transmission tower in the Katka Dam reservoir. However, it was impossible to attend to the fault on foot as these towers are submerged to a depth of at least 7 feet.
35 km away
Realizing that power supply to Sidhi district should not be interrupted, there was no option but to restore the fault by reaching the towers by boat that night itself. Manpur, the nearest village, was 35 km away. This was the nearest location from where a boat could possibly be arranged.
With the help of the sarpanch (head) of the Basa village (where the affected transmission tower was located), MPPTCL officials reached Manpur village. The boat owner not only provided the vessel but also an experienced boatman.
MPPTCL officials successfully reached the affected tower by paddling around 2 km, amidst strong winds. Equipped with repair tools and material on the boat, MPPTCL officials rectified not only the fault but also inspected other water-borne transmission towers in the area.
A possible interruption to Sidhi district was thus averted, thanks to the agile thinking and action on the part of MPTTCL officials.
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