MUSTANG, Sept 28: Electricity and internet services have been completely disrupted in Mustang for the past 36 hours after floods and landslides triggered by continuous rainfall damaged power and telecommunications infrastructure.
According to San Prasad Thakali, chief of the Nilgiri Consumers Cooperative, which distributes electricity in Jomsom, the connection to Mustang was cut after floods, landslides and river erosion damaged poles along the 33-kV transmission line coming from Dimukha in Parbat.
Damage to electricity infrastructure in the Parbat and Myagdi sections also prevented the Dana substation in Myagdi from being charged, forcing it to shut down, Thakali said.
The disruption to electricity and internet services has also made it difficult to obtain information about conditions in northern Myagdi, he said.
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Meanwhile, the transmission line up to Beni in Myagdi was repaired and brought back into operation on Sunday evening despite damage caused by floods and landslides.
A technical team has already left Jomsom to assess the condition of the 33-kV transmission line and the Dana substation, Thakali said.
He added that trees brought down by the rain had damaged electricity poles at several locations in Thasang Rural Municipality-3. With weather conditions improving, a technical team has also been dispatched to repair the transmission line there.
Technical teams are working to restore the disrupted services, with efforts underway to resume regular services by Sunday evening, Thakali said.
Nepal Telecom’s Jomsom branch said internet services in Mustang had been completely disrupted for around 36 hours after floods, landslides and river erosion damaged optical-fiber infrastructure.
Hoom Bhujel, chief of the Nepal Telecom Jomsom branch, said fiber-optic infrastructure had been damaged at dozens of locations in Parbat and Myagdi, disrupting internet services.
He said services had been restored up to Beni after repairs, but the northern areas of Myagdi and Mustang remained without regular internet access.
Repair work is underway at locations including Baisari in Myagdi and Lete in Thasang, he said.
According to Bhujel, although optical-fiber internet remains disrupted, telephone and 4G services are operating in some parts of Mustang through Nepal Telecom’s radio links.
He said telephone and 4G services are also available from Chhusang in Baragung Muktichhetra Rural Municipality-3 to the Korala border point through a solar-powered radio link.
Technical teams are working to restore the damaged optical-fiber network as soon as possible, and regular internet service could resume by Sunday evening, Bhujel said.
