Officials of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) are making elaborate arrangements for an interruption and accident-free monsoon this year.
As part of the pre-monsoon preparedness measures, workers of the Electricity Department are engaged in precautionary works, including raising the height of pillar boxes, replacing damaged poles, properly re-laying exposed cables on roads and pruning of tree branches near distribution transformers. Precautionary work is already apace in all the four circles of North, Central, West and South.
A senior official of Tangedco said instructions through several meetings have been issued to all the officials from the rank of Executive Engineers to Assistant Engineers to take all safety steps to avoid any accidents during the monsoon.
“The local officials have been directed to personally inspect their areas to find any damaged/leaning poles, corroded pillar boxes, sagging and weak overhead lines and pillar boxes without any door and take immediate steps to rectify the problems,” he said.
The Electricity Department had fixed the deadline for correcting all the problems as September 15. However, works are still on in several areas.
A senior official of the South Region said the foundation height of more than 1,200 pillar boxes have been increased in flood-prone places such as K.K. Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Valsaravakkam and Alwarthirunagar. Similarly in Nanganallur area, which is vulnerable to flooding, the officials have replaced overhead lines with underground cables covering several areas in and around temples.
Similarly, officials in the Adyar circle have been taking several steps to replace any worn-out or old fuses in pillar boxes and increasing the height of the pillar boxes in areas including Gandhi Nagar and Kasturiba Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur, Velachery and Perungudi.
In north Chennai the electricity officials have increased the height of pillar boxes in areas where water stagnation is often reported — Perambur, Kodungaiyur, Tondiarpet and Tiruvottiyur.
A senior official in Tangedco said the local officials have been strictly instructed to fix any exposed cables, particularly near near pillar boxes, and re-lay cables to avoid any accident.
The official also pointed out that there have been general complaints about phone calls not being attended to in several fuse-off call (FOC) centres.
Assistant engineers in-charge of such centres have been tasked with the responsibility of monitoring the outsourcing agents to attend to phone calls in each shift without fail. Any lapse in this regard would be viewed seriously, he added.