Powerlines hit by rain, board passes buck

8220;We did not have power since Saturday night. Despite contacting the JSEB authorities, there was no respite,8221; said Mridula Singh, a resident of Ranchi.

Officials of the JSEB, which has to be unbundled before September 30 as per the directive of the Jharkhand High Court, said they lacked man power to tackle the situation. They also blamed the poor quality of wire that was recently used to build the transmission network in the state.

8220;Most of the wires that had fallen at three dozen-odd places in the state did not meet the basic ISI standard. Almost 70 per cent of transformers that had got burnt during the past 24 hours were not greased and oiled since they were installed two years ago,8221; said a senior JSEB official.