Cyclone Fani: Kerala offers help to restore power supply in Odisha, sends KSEB workers

The first batch of 30 KSEB workers reached Bhubaneswar from Palakkad on May 10.

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After receiving support from across the country during the 2018 floods, Kerala is now doing its bit to support other states in distress. The government has now sent the first batch of workers and technical experts from the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to Bhubaneswar to restore power supply in flood-ravaged Odisha.

The first batch of 30 workers from Palakkad was despatched on May 9 to fix the power infrastructure in the state, which saw Cyclone Fani wreak havoc. The government has said that 200 KSEB workers will be despatched to Odisha to restore power supply in the state. The workers travelled via Shalimar express and reached Bhubaneswar on May 10.

A picture of the group of KSEB workers, all in white, was posted on the KSDMA’s (Kerala State Disaster Management Authority) Facebook page.

The initiative was taken based on the instructions of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is also the KSDMA chairman, after Principal Secretary (Disaster Management) V Venu held discussions with the KSDMA and Indian Railways.

KSEB has also confirmed that more workers from Thrissur, Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram will be despatched to Odisha in the coming days.

Power restoration work will be done over the next 20 days by the KSEB workers, who also include contract employees.

Following the cyclone which made landfall in Odisha on May 3, the office of the Special Relief Commissioner said that massive relief and restoration work was underway to provide basic facilities such as mobile connectivity, water supply, power connections.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote a letter to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik promising help and support in every way possible.

“Government of Kerala and its people offer all assistance including sending of medical teams, providing fire and rescue services and electricity personnel if you deem any of them necessary,” the letter read.

The Kerala government has also offered provisions like tarpaulin, clothing and other essentials, as per the data provided by the Odisha government.

“I have asked our State Relief Commissioner to be in constant touch with your state authorities to render any assistance that may be required,” added Pinarayi Vijayan.

In November 2018, as many as 400 employees of the KSEB had visited Tamil Nadu to restore power lines and infrastructure after Cyclone Gaja. The KSEB workers fixed power lines in most affected areas including Thanjavur and Pudukottai districts.

The cyclone, which claimed over 60 lives, led to the destruction of thousands of trees and power lines in various parts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.