BOLENG, 12 Sep: The residents of Siang HQ Boleng and its adjoining villages have been suffering due to disruption in power supply since 26 August after flashflood damaged the 1500 kw Subbung hydropower plant (SHP).
The flashflood, believed to have been triggered by a cloudburst over the Mouling National Park area, caused extensive damage to the SHP on 26 August, besides washing away the only steel bridge over the Subbung river that connected Supsing, Sine, Yingku, Yibuk, Lissing and Messing villages with the district headquarters.
The Subbung hydropower plant is the only source of power supply to the district headquarters and its adjoining villages. It is estimated that the restoration of the power plant will take at least one year.
Reportedly, many people have also been rendered homeless and have lost their cultivable land and standing horticulture and agriculture crops due to the flashflood.
The power outage has also badly affected the students engaged in online classes, and the health department in preserving the Covid vaccines.
The people of Riga circle are also reeling under absence of electricity due to damages caused to the Subbung and the Sirnyuk hydel stations (Jengging).
The district administration and the power department are planning to draw power from the Anggong Nallah hydel station at Janbo in Upper Siang.
“Although the three units of the hydropower plant have the capacity to generate 1500 mw power each, currently only one unit is generating power,” an official source said.
“The public of both Pangin and Boleng have to pressurize for reviving the existing 33 kv Sanggam-Boleng line too, as the formation-cutting and road widening of the highway by the BRTF is almost complete,” the official said.
“If hydel stations like Subbung (2×1500 kw), Anggong Nallah (3×1500 kw) and Yembung (4×500 kw) start generating power with their full capacity, the total power generated will be more than sufficient, and the excess electricity can be supplied to West Siang or East Siang,” the official added.