LUCKNOW, March 21 -- A sudden spell of strong winds and rain threw normal life off track in Lucknow on Friday, as the city's power infrastructure took a hit, triggering widespread outages across several areas. The disruption was caused by gusty winds that damaged poles and snapped overhead wires, leading to faults in 11 kV and 33 kV lines. As a result, electricity supply was interrupted in key localities including Gomti Nagar, Aminabad, Chinhat, Gomti Nagar Extension, Sarojini Nagar, Mohaan Road, Hardoi Road, Utrathia, Ashiana, Itaunja, and BKT, impacting thousands of residents. According to LESA officials, supply was restored in most affected areas within three hours, minimising prolonged inconvenience. The most significant disruption occurred at the Aminabad old substation, where an unusual incident worsened the situation. A protective mesh installed in the yard snapped due to strong winds and fell onto a 33,000-volt high-tension line around 2pm. This led to a major outage affecting nearly 10,000 consumers in densely populated and commercial zones such as Maulviganj, Rakabganj, Pandeyganj, Khayaliganj, Aminabad Park, Gulmarg Road and Chikmandi. The blackout lasted for nearly one and a half hours. Executive engineer Dharmendra Saxena said that supply was restored promptly, while technical teams continued repair work on the affected 33 kV unit to ensure stability and prevent further disruptions. Across the city, outages were reported at different intervals throughout the day. In Jankipuram Sector I and adjoining Madiaon, power cuts were reported from 10am to 2pm. Parts of Mahanagar under Kapurthala substation experienced outages between 11am and 3pm, while Maulviganj and Charbagh areas faced similar interruptions during the same period. htc...