GARO HILLS: The Meghalaya government hasn't completed an assessment of serious damage caused to power utilities during the recent floods in Garo Hills, but there are early signs that significant losses have been caused.
Power Minister A.T. Mondal said they are assessing the level of damage done and added power supply has nearly been restored in all places except the fact that the substation's scheduled inauguration on November 8 has been delayed since some part of its transmission line got washed away. Besides, the bye-election in Gambegre is nearing too.
The minister said that assessments are on in West Garo Hills. He said that in South Garo Hills, MeECL covers a part of the utility and another part is under a distribution franchise. He said efforts are being made towards putting together a comprehensive overview.
Mondal said the damage to the infrastructure was huge, adding that the entire bridges had been washed away towards Bangladesh. He said that the flash flood was a result of continuous rain over days and added that the houses along the river banks were not the only ones that were affected but also ordinary houses. He said when he talked to the residents in the Dalu area, many said they never experienced such heavy rainfall and flooding in their lives.
The emergency services were promptly activated and relief efforts were put in place for the affected communities. Alas, 17 persons lost their lives in Garo Hills due to heavy rains, which caused extensive flooding and landslides. These include 15 persons whose deaths were directly caused by natural disasters arising from heavy rains, which included flash floods and landslides. Two children drowned as they fell into a water-filled tank in the construction process.
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