Title - Passengers worst hit as Jamshedpur struggles

The Steel City reeled under the power crisis along with the entire State and almost half the country due to collapse of the eastern, northern and north eastern grids. Movement of trains stopped in the entire Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway (SER) on Tuesday afternoon.Several trains were stranded at Tatanagar, Chakradharpur and other stations on the Howrah-Mumbai route as overhead transmission lines flickered off.The Howrah-Titlagarh Ispat Express (Dn) got stuck at Chakradharpur for about two-and-half-hours after its arrival around 1.35 pm. The Santragachi-Nanded Huzur Sahib Express (Dn) and Howrah-Mumbai Duronto were also stranded.Duronto Express was the first to leave Chakradharpur after power restoration around 3.50 pm. Trains which were stranded at Tatanagar Railway Station included Tata-Dhanbad Subernarekha Express, Tata-Asansol Passenger and Tata-Jasidih Passenger.According to information, the eastern grid collapsed around 12.30 pm, which led Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) to an isolation phase as the town was disconnected.Industrial units at Adityapur and Gamharia, which are dependent on JSEB, also faced problems, as a majority was unable to meet schedules.  Production was hampered at several small and medium scale units under the Adityapur Industrial Area Development Authority ( AIADA). Small units cannot afford production by using generator sets.

A source in the Tata Steel also confirmed that production was partially affected due to closure of units in a phase-wise manner. However, no specific unit was shut down for more than an hour, to minimise production loss. Areas under Tata Steel command require nearly 80 MVA of electricity every day and after the eastern grid failure and subsequent isolation of DVC there was a power deficit of 25 percent.

The localities under   JSEB command areas  like Jugsalai, Sundernagar, Parsudih, Govindpur, Karandih and several other localities on the outskirts of the steel city also faced tough situations. Blackouts greeted Ghatsila, Mosabani and Chaibasa as well due to collapse. Meanwhile, services at banks, post offices and in hospitals remained largely unaffected in the city.