More than 2 lakh Jharia residents spent more than 10 hours without power and water on Saturday after a 10MVA transformer at Jamadoba-based substation of Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) was gutted in a blaze.

Fire broke out in the transformer around 7.30am due to insufficient quantity of insulation oil, which according to substation sources was stolen by anti-social elements.

The oil helps to insulate the transformer and also keep it cool.

Although the fire was doused within 30 minutes, the substation was completely damaged.

Smoke comes out of the transformer minutes after it caught fire. Picture by Shabbir Hussain

As a temporary measure, rotational power supply has been arranged in different areas of Jharia through two 5MVA transformers from 5pm, but frequent power cuts has made life difficult for people living in Thana More, Upper Kulhi, Jharia Bazar, Poddar Para, Shiv Mandir Road, Lal Bazar, Bora Patti, Gandhi Road, Shamsher Nagar, Sindri Road, Lilori Pathra, 4 Number, Indra Chowk, Fatehpur Lane, Nai Duniya and Dharamshala Road.

Expressing disgust over the situation, Santosh Keshri, a garments dealer of Kapra Patti locality of Jharia said, “The power cut has adversely affected the Id market as customers are barely spending time in my shop to select dresses due to the intense heat and power cut.”

Former councillor of ward 37 of Jharia Anup Sao said, “The substation fire which also hit water supply has made life difficult for people. We will be compelled to stage protests if immediate measures are not taken to restore power.”

Junior engineer of Jharia area of JBVNL Rakesh Kumar said, “We have made arrangements to replace the gutted transformer with a new one. Normal supply is likely to resume from Monday as the new 10MVA transformer in likely to be installed by Sunday evening followed by oil insulation which takes around 15-20 hours.”