MADURAI: Strong winds and rain on Saturday night caused massive power disruptions in many villages in Melur taluk. The Saruguvalayapatti, Arittapatti, Aiyappapatti, Oththapatti, Pappapatti, Therukkutheru, and Narasingampatti villages were without power for more than 12 hours.
Arun Devi, former president of Saruguvalayapatti Panchayat, said, “There are more than 7,000 families in our panchayat. Due to the sudden rain and winds, several trees were uprooted, damaging around 10 electric poles in villages such as Aiyappa Patti, Ariyappatti, Oththapatti, and Pappapatti. As a result, there was a power cut from Saturday night. This lasted for more than eight hours in our villages. However, it was restored by Sunday evening.”
S Vasuki, former president of Therukkutheru panchayat, said, “Strong winds uprooted many trees, damaging more than five electric poles in our panchayat. The power cut lasted for more than six hours. However, it was restored on Sunday morning. Not just our village, but other villages like Sengur, Muthuramalingampatti, Vinayagapuram, Muniyampatti, and Nagalingampuram were also affected.”
A top official from Tangedco (Madurai) said, “Due to the strong winds, several trees were uprooted and around 12 electric poles were completely damaged. Tree clearances were carried out in 10 spots. Though we were able to restore power to all villages by Sunday afternoon, we had to switch to alternate supplies. Saruguvalayapatti panchayat was affected the most, and 10 electric poles under low tension (LT) services were severely damaged.”