Workers on Monday try to clear chief minister’s 1 Aney Marg residence after a banyan tree collapsed in the squall on Sunday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

The four-hour power shutdown following the squall on Sunday night had a prolonged effect, forcing residents in various parts of the city to receive erratic supply even on Monday.

The capital witnessed a virtual blackout for a few hours after a thunder squall, accompanied by light rainfall, hit the city around 9pm on Sunday. Patna Electric Supply Undertaking (Pesu) officials on Monday claimed that power supply had been restored in 95 per cent of the areas in the city.

Weathermen have predicted another spell of squall or gusty winds in the next 48 to 72 hours.

“Nor’westers (northwestern system) trigger such squalls or gusty winds, which mostly occur in late-March, April and May. By Wednesday and Thursday, another Nor’wester is expected to hit Bihar,” Ashish Sen, director, India Meteorological Department, told The Telegraph.

Sen said the squall, which picked up a speed of 58km per hour, hit the city at 9.15pm on Sunday night lasting for just two minutes.

Despite Pesu claiming on Monday that the power supply restoration work in the city was complete, residents of Mathni Tal near Begumpur post office in Patna City had a harrowing time after the squall. An electric pole was damaged so badly by the winds that it ran the risk of collapse. Hence, the residents held the pole throughout the night till the electricians from the power company reached the spot on Monday morning.

Rajesh Kumar, whose house stands right opposite the pole, said: “After the squall ended, I saw the pole tilting in a particular direction. Initially, we tried supporting it with a bamboo stick but in futile. So local residents decided to hold it till the electricians arrived. We blocked the road to prevent vehicles from passing lest they get electrocuted.” Krishna Kumar, another resident, said: “We decided to hold the electric pole because we feared that the power supply could be restored any moment posing threat to many lives. We alerted the power company officials around 10pm about the incident but no one came. The electrician and officials finally arrived around 10.30am today (Monday) and restored the supply around 4pm.”

When contacted, Patna City division executive engineer Ram Birendra Prasad told The Telegraph: “We switched off the power supply in the night after being apprised that the pole had tilted and might collapse. I don’t have any information that nobody from the power company reached the spot.”

Residents of areas like Rajeev Nagar, Keshri Nagar, Indrapuri and Alpana Market in the western part of the city faced voltage fluctuations, which damaged their electrical appliances.

“Last night (Sunday), we had to bear power cut for four to five hours from 9pm. When supply was restored late at night, the high voltage damaged several refrigerators, stabilisers and electrical appliances in our apartment. We filled our overhead water tank with the help of the generator,” said Ashok Garg, a resident of Sai Harmony Apartment in Alpana Market area.