Large-scale damage to power infrastructure in Bengaluru due to rain
BESCOM records Rs 65.3 crore loss this FY
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Bengaluru: Along with causing waterlogging and danger of inundation of houses, the heavy showers in Bengaluru have hit its power infrastructure on a large scale, with 1,465 electricity poles and 190 transformers being damaged this month.
Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) officials have estimated that an additional 600 to 700 poles might be damaged in the next 10 days. The areas under the limits of BESCOM recorded damage of 1,880 electricity poles and 151 transformers in April this year, due to rain. So far, BESCOM’s loss due to rain in the Financial Year 2025-26 is recorded to be Rs 65.3 crore, reports The Hindu.
In April this year, the city witnessed a threefold hike in damage to power poles, as against the damage in April 2024, when 558 poles were affected. While nine transformers were damaged in April 2024, the number increased drastically this year.
The increased intensity of wind and rain has caused the damage in April 2025, according to BESCOM officials. A senior officer added that intensive rainfall started in mid-April this year while in 2024 it was in the last week of the month. Additionally, the number of days when the city received heavy showers accompanied by forceful winds was also much higher this year, as compared to last year, he added, clarifying that, as a result, it would be difficult to compare the level of damage.
The officer also said that loosening of soil due to the civil works going on in Bengaluru has also led to the uprooting of trees. He explained that more than one power pole along a power line would be affected when one tree fell.
BESCOM has said that the problem during such weather had no permanent solution. The officer, however, said that they had contacted the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Forest Department for pre-monsoon maintenance, as it would help alleviate the problem. He explained that the BBMP and Forest Department would take up the maintenance work in mid-January, with BESCOM providing manpower as well as financial and material assistance.
Experts, however, have stressed that a scientific approach towards maintenance and a successful implementation of both aerial and underground cables would be needed to prevent such damage.
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Tripura min thanks Centre for clearing final location survey for new railway line
Agartala (PTI): Tripura Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railways Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw for clearing the final location survey (FLS) for a new rail line between Jirania and Bodhjungnagar industrial estate in West Tripura.
The Ministry of Railways has accorded sanction for conducting an FLS for the construction of a new line, the NFR said in a statement on Monday.
The estimated cost of the 14-km stretch will be Rs 42 lakh, and the approval marks an important step toward strengthening railway infrastructure and enhancing industrial activities in the northeastern state, it said.
"The approval for the construction of this new railway line is an important step in strengthening the railway infrastructure in the state and increasing the mobility of various industries in the industrial city of Bodhjungnagar," the transport minister said in a Facebook post on Monday.
"The proposed new Jirania-Bodhjungnagar railway line, if commissioned, will play an important role as a rail corridor for the transport of goods from the industrial city of Bodhjungnagar and which will benefit the people of the state, including businessmen," he added.
After the completion of this survey, the construction of the new railway line will help encourage further industrial development in the districts adjoining West Tripura, which will significantly boost the local economy, he said.
"This important project will play a special role in improving the railway connectivity in the state and boost the economic growth of the region," the minister added.
"I express my heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Manik Saha and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for taking this step," he added.
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