Nagpur: South and East Nagpur on Thursday witnessed heavy downpour with severe thunderstorm for one hour from 5 pm to 6 pm that led to power outage for hours and uprooting of trees in many localities. The hour-long storm that hit the city ripped apart billboards in many areas including one at Variety Square.
Around 50,000 residents faced hard time due to massive power cut. According to Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), 33KV feeder lines of Wardhaman Nagar, Pardi and Besa faced power breakdown due to heavy thunderstorm on Thursday evening. Due to the breakdown, residents of Wardhaman Nagar, Pardi, Subhan Nagar, Chinteshwar Nagar, Gandhibagh Garden, Kharbi, Bahadura, Narsala, Umred Road, Umargaon, Binaki, Om Sai Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Wanjara, Ambe Nagar, Shanti Nagar and Kalamna areas witnessed power cut for hours.
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The linesmen of MSEDCL were busy on Thursday evening to restore the power supply till late evening. Due to severe thunderstorm, total 12 high-tension poles and 10 low-tension poles collapsed under Wardhaman Nagar substation. The Fire and Emergency Department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) received more than 15 calls throughout the city for uprooting of trees after the thunderstorm.
Firemen attended calls from Shesh Nagar, Kharbi Road, Ganjipeth, Mahakali Nagar, Chhapru Nagar, Somwari Quarters, Ayoddha Nagar, Thaore Colony, Wardhaman Nagar, Hirwi Nagar Square, Central Jail Road, Ajni, Pardi etc. Due to uprooting of trees, traffic jams were witnessed at many parts of the city and many vehicles damaged.
NMC has appealed citizens to contact Disaster Management Control Room on 0712-2567029, 0712- 2567777, 0712-2540299, 0712-2540188, 101, 108, 7030972200 if there is a complaint of uprooting trees. Whereas, India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted dry weather in Vidarbha from May 17 onwards for the next few days.
Met records ‘Zero Rainfall’ despite heavy rains
Despite heavy rainfall, the Sonegaon-based manual observatory of Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Nagpur recorded ‘zero’ mm of rainfall in city. Government departments, farmers and researchers in city depend on RMC’s weather data on a daily basis. The accuracy of weather forecasting by the Weather Department plays a major role in sowing and other agricultural activities.
The Weather Department issues timely warnings for hailstorm, heavy rains for farmers. The heavy rains with severe thunderstorm on Thursday would have definitely affected farmers in the form of crop damage. But there is no data of rainfall available with the Department for Thursday evening in the city as the Sonegaon observatory recorded ‘zero’ rainfall under its observation periphery.
In recent times, Nagpur city has been witnessing many events of patchy rain which is increasing by the day. With the expansion of Nagpur city, there is a need to increase the manual and automatic weather stations to record accurate weather data of the whole city. The Weather Department right now has just one manual observatory in Sonegaon and three automatic weather stations (AWS) CICR, PDKV and near Wadi.
Not a single station of the city recorded the heavy rains of South and East Nagpur that wreaked havoc on Thursday. It raised a question over the capability of the department in their prediction as they are dependent on their only manual station in Sonegaon which has its own limitations and the events of patchy rains in recent time requires more weather stations to cater the accuracy in weather prediction.
