Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], May 21 (HBTV): Gujarat, steadily emerging as the nation's growth engine, has reaffirmed its commitment to disaster preparedness and resilience during the recent bout of unseasonal rainfall and strong winds. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the Gujarat State Energy Department responded swiftly and effectively to restore power across affected regions.
In anticipation of the monsoon season, power companies had already implemented a comprehensive Disaster Management Plan, with essential materials pre-positioned at vulnerable locations. When the storm struck on the evening of May 5, the control room at Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) and its subsidiaries was activated immediately to monitor the evolving situation. A review meeting was held the next day by the Energy and Petrochemicals Department, which directed teams to expedite restoration efforts without compromising safety.
A total of 1,026 teams from power distribution companies and 87 teams from the transmission company—comprising 5,426 skilled personnel—were deployed for repair and restoration work. Aiding this effort was the GeoUrja system, a geo-mapped electricity network integrated with an online power status monitoring platform. This allowed for prioritised and efficient restoration operations. Preventive maintenance carried out ahead of the monsoon season also helped reduce damage.
Between the evening of May 5 and the morning of May 6, power supply disruptions were reported in 7,327 villages. Over 6,425 villages—more than 88 per cent—had power restored within 24 hours, with the remaining 902 restored within 48 hours. In the eight towns under PGVCL that experienced outages, supply was restored within 12 hours. The affected areas spanned across DGVCL, MGVCL, PGVCL, and UGVCL regions, with the worst-hit districts including Bharuch, Anand, Chhota Udepur, Dahod, Kheda, Panchmahal, Vadodara, Mahisagar, Surendranagar, Banaskantha, and Aravalli.
In these districts, 5,822 villages were affected, impacting approximately 12.68 lakh people. Of these, 4,987 villages (over 85 per cent) had their power restored within 24 hours. The rest were restored within 48 hours. Among 480 damaged power distribution transformers, 376 were repaired immediately, with the remainder restored shortly thereafter. Of 216 affected substations, 215 were made operational within 24 hours, and the last within 12 hours. Out of 231 damaged transmission lines, 186 were restored within a day and 210 within 48 hours.
Vadodara city faced significant disruption when approximately 150 feeders of 11 kV went offline due to strong winds. The electricity department deployed repair teams without delay. MGVCL set up a control room at the circle office to manage coordination. Falling trees and hoardings had caused damage to lines, impacting 151 feeders. All were restored by late night on the same day. Over 100 departmental and 20 contractual teams were mobilised for repairs, including three transformer repair teams, a Ring Main Unit team, and an underground fault detection team. MGVCL also deployed cable fault detection vans, ladder vans, and cranes for obstacle removal and repairs.
Despite extensive damage, MGVCL’s team worked through the night. The centralised complaint centre received over 5,360 complaints, of which 4,700 were resolved promptly and the rest soon after.
Gujarat's proactive planning, rapid response, and integration of technology underscore its preparedness to face natural disasters while sustaining its development trajectory. Under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s leadership, the state continues to advance with resilience, ensuring a secure future for its citizens.
(ANI)