The Department of Power, through a press release, has informed that Tower AP No. 16 of the 132 kV Single circuit of the crucial Wokha – Sanis Transmission Line collapsed in the early hours of 27 April 2024 near Riphyim Old area under Wokha District.
It stated that during inspection by the department along with District Administration, it was discovered that the tack welded nuts and bolts of the tower members were cut and removed, resulting in the collapse of the tower. This indicates a clear intention to steal the tower parts, leading to disruption in the power supply by miscreants, the power department said. It was also found that the adjacent towers (Tower numbers 15 and 17) are on the verge of collapse as the bracings of the towers have been stolen.
The power department also informed that this particular 132kV Kohima-Wokha-Sanis-Doyang transmission line was constructed for evacuation of power from the Doyang HEP and is an important element of the State Power Transmission Grid with connectivity to the state capital. Unfortunately, the line could not be commissioned for many years due to theft of materials and damage of several towers at various locations between Wokha and Doyang. The department, with great hardship, difficulty, and struggle, restored the line in 2016, incurring huge expenditure by the state government in the process, it was informed.
Power outage threat looms
With the collapse of this tower, the department cautioned that in the event of any line fault or power outages on the 132 kV Transmission line between Dimapur – Kohima – Karong (Manipur), the capital Kohima along with the whole of Kohima and Tseminyu districts & upper range of Wokha District including Wokha Town will plunge into total/ complete blackout. Further, power supply would be adversely affected in the Upper Range of Wokha District & Tseminyu district in case of any breakdowns/outages between Kohima – Wokha Transmission line.
It may be noted that this is the second such incident this month, where on the 20th April, the 66 kV Double Circuit Transmission Line Tower collapsed near Pungro Town due to theft of tower parts, disrupting the evacuation of power from Likhimro Hydro Electric Project. While the department officers and staff were working on a war footing to restore the collapse of the first tower, this incident has put the department in a very critical situation.
“While the department is committed to providing reliable and stable power supply to the consumers despite many constraints & limitations, it strongly expresses dismay for such acts of sabotage to public property, depriving the public of essential services,” the press release said.
The Department has lodged an FIR with the police. It also appealed to all village councils concerned, CSOs, and all stakeholders to cooperate and assist the law enforcing agencies to book the culprits at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the department informed that it was putting in all efforts to restore the line at the earliest and sought cooperation from all concerned.
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