Storm, rain wreak havoc in Jaisalmer

JAISALMER: Severe storm and heavy rain on Wednesday night in Jaisalmer and Barmer have uprooted dozens of big trees and over 1,000 electricity poles in more than 200 villages.
At many places, temporary huts and roofs of houses were blown away because of the storm in addition to killing goats and sheep. Solar panels of power projects of many private companies have also been damaged or blown away.However, the rain has provided relief to villages facing water crisis.
The storm started on Wednesday evening and continued till late night especially in Mohangarh, Nachna, Ramgarh, Sultana, Lathi, Chandhan, Khetolai and Ramdevra. Winds blew at 40-50 kmph uprooting trees and electricity poles. The storm affected the entire power system in border areas and electricity supply got disrupted in 100-125 villages and hamlets in Ramgarh border area.
Jodhpur Discom’s Jaisalmer superintendent engineer Narendra Joshi said more than 1,100 power poles fell due to the storm. In rural areas, many poles of 11kv and 33kv collapsed. At Chandhan Pokaran and Sheo Undu, 132kv towers collapsed. Overall, the electricity department suffered a loss of nearly Rs 5 crore. Around 200 villages and hamlets in rural areas of Jaisalmer are in darkness and efforts are being made to restore power.
Jaisalmer district collector Ashish Modi said there was information of loss due to storms and heavy rain in many rural areas of the district. All SDMs have been directed to send teams to inspect the loss and send the report to the headquarters at the earliest.