Cyclone-hit Puri city

BHUBANESWAR: The state government hopes to restore power in at least 80% of homes in the state capital by Friday while electricity in the rest of the city is expected to return only by Monday. Power infrastructure was severely damaged Cyclone Fani , which battered coastal Odisha on Friday with wind speed of above 200 kmph.

Talking about the power scenario, information secretary Sanjay Singh said on Wednesday that electricity supply in major parts of Cuttack is also likely to be back by Friday. "Power in 80% of homes will be restored by Friday. In Cuttack, too, the situation would more or less normalise by then," Singh said, adding, "Power in Bhubaneswar will be 100% restored in another four days."

The situation however is grim for Puri district which faced the full force of the cyclone. It may take up to a month before normalcy is resorted.

With elections just over, strong rooms where the state's EVMs are stored also lost power-connectivity. The CCTVs are however operational using diesel generators round the clock, DGP Rajendra Prasad Sharma said. The central armed police force personnel are guarding the EVMs in the capital while in Puri, it is the BSF in charge.

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