Wood still holds good in Malabar

KOZHIKODE: When wooden electrical posts across the state are giving way for pre-stressed concrete (PSC) posts, the former still thrives in many areas of the Malabar region. Especially in Kozhikode district. Though officers with the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) do not have  proper data on the number of poles in the district, it is approximated there are more than 3,000 wooden electrical posts which are yet to be replaced.  

According to the Chief Engineer’s (Distribution) office, there are 68 KSEB section offices in the district regionally headed at Kozhikode and Vadakara. P I Vijayan, an officer with the Kozhikode Regional Office, said the department is now replacing the wooden electrical posts with PSC posts. “The replacement of the posts are happening at a fast pace. Our focus is on replacing the damaged ones first,” he said.

He also said the unavailability of wood was a major reason for the shift to concrete posts. “Sometimes, even concrete posts are unavailable. In such cases, we reuse the removed but undamaged wooden posts,” he said.  Similarly, the Assistant Engineer with  the Vadakara Regional Office said the department is replacing the existing wooden posts in the region. “I cannot state an exact number of wooden posts,” the officer said. There are 30 sections under the Vadakara region. 

An officer with the Vadakara section office, Anil Kumar told Express there are about 150 wooden posts in the particular section alone. “The case will be the same for other sections too. It is really hard to quote the exact number of wooden posts as we replace the damaged ones with concrete posts. It is not easy to keep a record of these,” he said.