Normal life has been badly affected due to the total blackout for the past three days in Tamenglong district.
Due to lack of power supply in the district, eight patients who are undergoing kidney dialysis had to be immediately transferred to the state capital, travelling 165 kilometres through rough and slippery roads.
The power generator of district hospital Duigailong, Tamenglong also broke down amid the absence of power supply, compounding the hardships of the sick patients.
The district administration arranged one generator on Saturday; however, the generator stopped functioning after half an hour of running.
In the meantime, when the Imphal Free Press contacted the manager of Manipur State power distribution company limited (MSPDCL), the manager informed that the fault is between Leimatak and Rengpang 132 KV line. The MSPCL staff are looking into it, he said.
However, the MSPCL staff are yet to detect where the fault actually is even though the district is reeling under the power outrage for three days.
Due to lack of power supply in the district for three days, many people who could not make efforts to charge their mobile phone battery got switched off. Mobile networks and the internet are also affected.
Businessmen who rely on power were also badly affected.
Sources said that District Hospital can hardly function for a single day with these power outages and it is relying on a single generator to provide backup power during these outages, especially in critical areas like the Operating Theater and Dialysis.
“Unfortunately, the generator recently broke down, disrupting our services. And we do not want this to happen either. We have informed higher authority to do what’s necessary. To ensure better service, we also need a dedicated power line for the District Hospital, which we currently lack,” source added.
Not pointing fingers at anyone but the term ‘Backup Generator’ itself explains it all. Backup generators are not to be used as the main source of power 24x7, he said.
The maintenance of such a huge generator is expensive when used almost daily. Parts and technicians are not available here in the district, he added.
