Jamshedpur: A 33KV line of Tata Steel subsidiary and utilities company Jusco, which passed through the Old Kharkai Bridge from Jamshedpur, caught fire on Tuesday evening, affecting power supply in residential and industrial areas of adjoining Adityapur and Gamharia in Seraikela-Kharsawan district.

Suspected to be an act of sabotage, the fire erupted in the two cables passing through a side of the old bridge at its Bistupur-end. Two optical fibre cables (OFC) belonging to private telecom company Reliance Jio also burnt in the fire that continued for about 20 minutes from 4.30pm before two fire tender reached the spot and doused the flames that were shooting columns of black smoke in the sky.

The blaze was tamed around 5pm.

A Jusco team got the power supply through the damaged line snapped. A senior Jusco official said power was supplied to residential areas in Adityapur and Gamharia and to Adityapur industrial area through the 33KV line. "Circumstantial evidence indicates sabotage," he said. "We have started replacing the burnt cable so that supply of power can be restored at the earliest," he said.

Jusco spokesperson Rajesh Rajan also said sabotage could be behind the blaze which was being probed. "Power supply to residential areas will be restored in the next four hours (Tuesday late night), but it will take a day to restore power supply to the industrial area," he said.

About 40 per cent domestic consumers and 60 industrial consumers use Jusco power in Adityapur and Gamharia.

Bistupur OC Srineewash said they were yet to ascertain the cause of fire, but it had been doused completely. "We are probing the reason with help from the Jusco team. If it is a case of sabotage we will register a case, but no written complaint has been made to this effect yet," the OC told this paper on Tuesday evening.

Akram Khan, field officer of Reliance Jio, added their damaged OFC cables would be repaired by Tuesday night.