The three eastern-most districts including Ilam, Panchthar and Taplejung have plunged into darkness for the past three days after a flood induced by persistent rainfall swept away a vital pole of a transmission line in Ilam. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) confirmed that the electricity supply to all the three districts has been stopped since Saturday after a flood damaged tower number 51 in Mahamai under the Padajungi-Godak 132 kVA transmission line.

Although efforts are being made to repair the electricity line, the three districts have not received any electricity till Monday afternoon. According to the NEA, it may take three to four months to repair the damaged tower.

The chief of the Ilam branch of the authority, Bijali Prasad Yadav, informed Republica that while the authority is making efforts to re-establish electricity connection in the three districts, they are also exploring alternative arrangements. “It is not possible to repair the damaged tower right now,” Yadav informed Republica, “We are also exploring alternative solutions to the problem.”

According to him, although there have been reports in various media that four towers have been damaged, the branch has officially received information that two towers have been damaged. “We are still patrolling the affected areas,” Yadav said, “We are yet to ascertain the intensity of damage in those areas.”

Yadav informed Republica that efforts are being made to establish electricity connection to the affected districts either by using the electricity produced by the local hydropower projects in those districts or using the 133 kVA transmission line in Jhapa. “We are trying to turn on the electricity by Monday evening by making an alternative arrangement,” he told Republica.

Media outlets shut down

After the power outage for three days, media outlets in all three districts have been shut down. The broadcasting of radio channels has been stopped and newspapers have not been printed while online news portals are still operational.

Radio stations including Radio NepalBani FM based in the district headquarters, Ilam FM and Radio Fikkal and Buddhabani FM based in Fikkal, have all been closed for three days. Gopal Niraula of NepalBani FM informed Republica that the radio was switched off after the alternative source of power (inverter) ran out of power after a prolonged period of operation. Station manager of Ilam FM, Pashupati Bhattarai, said that the radio had to be shut down because the inverter could not be charged due to lack of electricity.

Chief of the news section of Buddhabani FM, Bikram Sundas, said that the broadcast of the radio has been stopped since Saturday evening. “Since we did not receive any electricity supply, there is no way to operate the radio,” he informed Republica, “We hope the electricity line will be repaired soon.”

Print media outlets including Ilam Post Daily and Ilam Express Daily have also stopped operating from Saturday evening. Satendra Jabegu, the editor of Ilam Post Daily, informed Republica that their work was halted due to the lack of electricity. Various weekly and monthly print media have also been affected due to lack of electricity. In addition, almost two dozen online media outlets run in the district are also on the verge of closure.

District administration services affected

Due to the lack of electricity, the public services of the District Administration Office (DAO), Ilam, have also been stopped. The DAO issued a notice on Monday stating that the services had to be stopped because there was no electricity and the inverter was also not working. The general public has also been affected by the inability to charge their mobile phones.

Source: Republica