Dimapur plunged into darkness as transformer catches fire

•  Fire at Nagarjan power sub-station ‘chars’ 20MVA transformer
•  Officials plan to use ‘old 10MVA transformer’ as temporary measure

Staff Reporter
Dimapur, Nov. 12 (EMN): Power supply to more than half of Dimapur has been affected because of total shutdown imposed by the department for restoration works after fire broke out in one of the power transformers at 132kV Sub-Station, Nagarjan, Dimapur on Sunday Nov. 13 at around 1.50 pm.
One 20MVA transformer was completely burnt and the likelihood of adjacent transformers also getting affected has not been ruled out, informed a press note from the department’s engineer-in-chief, G Chishi.
The affected areas are those fed from Metha Sub-Station, Full Nagarjan, Half Nagarjan, Thilixu, Naharbari, Chekiye, Rangapahar Army Cantonment, Signal Basti, Thahekhu, and Peren district.
“The department shall thoroughly ascertain the cause of the fire leading to the accident through a technical team as soon as possible”, Chishi stated.
While the department is making all out effort to restore the power supply as soon as possible, our esteemed consumers/public are requested to bear with us, Chishi appealed.
Chishi said the degree of damage would be known only after technicians begin inspection on Monday.
As per Chishi, who was at the site, 20MVA transformer which caught fire was feeding a number of villages covering up till Dhansiripar while adjacent to it was the one feeding Metha Sub-station which supplies the urban core.
“The charred one was beyond repair and the status of the other one would be known only after a thorough check”, said Chishi.
The department is contemplating on installing an old 10MVA transformer as temporary arrangement till replacement could be obtained to restore power supply to affected localities, he added. The task of putting a fill-in would take two week’s minimum, said Chishi.
The Dimapur fire department said they received the information about the fire at around 2.05 pm. The diversion of the road however was an obstacle for the fire personnel though they could intervene on time with less traffic on Sunday.
Five fire tenders from Dimapur station and two from Chumukedima Fire Station were pressed into action to control the fire which took them about three hours, informed the Dimapur fire personnel. A press note from the power department stated that fire service from army also assisted in containing the fire.
Though the cause of the fire could not be ascertained, the fire personnel said the cause ‘could be because of negligence from the department’.