TURA: Citizens of South Garo Hills district headquarters Baghmara who were reeling under unrelenting power failure for the last five days has finally got a respite from their agony on Monday.
Following incessant rains the previous week which resulted in washing away of a major bridge at Karukol, power lines also got disrupted due to landslides. However, as restoration works were underway a cyclonic storm which hit the entire north east region on Friday and Saturday, also impacted the southern district causing further landslides and tree falls snapping power lines.
The resulting impact from the long power disruption hampered water supply distribution to many areas of the town and communication facilities were also overstretched as many mobile towers had to run on diesel generators to provide network signal for the several thousand subscribers who depend primarily on their cell phones to communicate.
Road communication continues to be a problem for commuters since last week’s storm with only one section of the national highway 62 being cleared for traffic from Baghmara to Tura following repairs to the damaged Telekhali bridge.
Tragically, people living in the Siju-Nangalbibra region remain cut off from the district headquarters Baghmara due to the washing away of the Rongdik bridge during the previous storm. PWD officials say it could take months before the repair is completed and the strong water currents have further compounded the situation.