Mon districts remain without power as restoration attempts continue
Power supply to Mon district, Longleng district, and Tuli Sub-Division has been completely cut off since early Friday after a 66kV transmission tower collapsed in the Yisemyong area of Mokokchung following massive landslides.
The collapse site lies deep inside a landslide-prone jungle that engineers have described as “a threat to human life,” making restoration efforts perilous.
“In spite of our best effort, restoration could not be completed tonight. The work will resume tomorrow morning at 5:00 AM. Please remember us in your prayers,” Executive Engineer of the Mokokchung Transmission Division, Er Hekaito Assumi, told Mokokchung Times late Saturday night.
He said a 40-member team of officers and staff worked the entire day in the field before returning home at around 9:30 PM. “We will try to finish by tomorrow. We are trying our best. It is a very difficult terrain… lots of landslides, and we had to go deep into the jungle,” Assumi said, adding that many workers were sustaining injuries while “putting their life at risk.”
The Changtongya division and Mokokchung electrical division have joined the operation. “We are very grateful to the Changtongya division because they are supplementing us with the human resources and materials we did not have. We are also very short of manpower so we appreciate the help,” he stated.
The department located the fault at around 4:00 PM after intensive line patrolling. Earlier, it had indicated it would attempt to construct a 4-pole SP 65 structure or bypass the damaged tower if adjacent towers provided the required clearances and support.
Assumi further said that the site is now being resurveyed to relocate the tower to a safer location and prevent similar disruptions in the future. “Unfortunately, those affected areas will have to remain in total blackout for now. We have been requesting Mon, Longleng, and all those affected areas to kindly bear with us,” he said, adding that restoration work will continue on Sunday despite the holiday.