Heavy showers disrupt power supply in Salcete

Colva: Several villages along the Salcete coastal belt received heavy pre-monsoon showers accompanied by intense thunder, lightning, and gusty winds for nearly half an hour on Saturday evening, leading to power outages.

Villages such as Cavelossim, Carmona, Orlim, and Varca experienced power failures, leaving residents without electricity for over two hours after trees collapsed onto 33KV power transmission lines.

Despite the intense downpour, residents received little relief from the prevailing heat, as soaring temperatures quickly returned once the showers subsided.

Around 5pm, several parts of Salcete witnessed heavy rainfall accompanied by loud thunderclaps and frequent flashes of lightning for nearly 20 minutes.

Carmona sub-station junior engineer Satyam Raikar said the power disruption was caused by trees falling onto transmission lines at multiple locations. He added that electricity department staff were immediately deployed to restore the supply.

The affected coastal villages receive electricity from the Velim sub-station, which also reportedly sustained damage due to the sudden and unseasonal weather conditions.

The unexpected showers also caused inconvenience to many households engaged in annual pre-monsoon home repairs. Several residents had temporarily removed roofing tiles to replace damaged rafters and repair leaks ahead of the monsoon season. The untimely rainfall disrupted the maintenance work, raising concerns over possible water seepage and damage to houses.