Lineman Raju Rathva risked his life to restore power in a town of Junagadh.
Risking his life, a lineman of Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited (PGVCL), jumped in a flooded river, climbed up a slippery electric pole and then changed a jumper of the line to restore power in Manavadar town of Junagadh district on Tuesday.
Raju Rathva, the lineman attached to Manavadar sub-division-I of PGVCL got a call late in the morning to report on duty though his shift was to start around 12 hours later. He was out buying grocery after rain stopped. The town had recorded more than 10 inch of rain within a few hours early in the morning and many parts of the town were flooded. Due to heavy rain, which caused short-circuit in the town, the jumper in the feeder-line was tripped, PGVLL officers said.
“While checking the line to find the location of the fault, we discovered that the jumper in the pole which stood right in the middle of Khara river had tripped. But the river was flooded. There was at least eight-foot deep water and the water was flowing. The pole was at least 50 feet away from the river bank. I realised that only Rathva can do the job. Therefore, I summoned him on duty so that power supply to the town can be restored,” Malde Pithiya, deputy engineer of Manavadar sub-division-I said.
And 42-year-old Rathva was game for the job. “In PGVCL, I never believe in on-duty and off-duty. I am always on duty. I had done a similar repairing at another location in the past. Therefore, I was confident of swimming my way to the pole and replace the tripped jumper,” said the lineman who has been working with PGVCL, the state government-owned company which distributes power in Saurashtra and Kutch regions.
In all Rathva took about half-an-hour to swim to the pole, replace the tripped jumper and swim his way back to the pole. In order to divide powerlines into sections, PGVCL uses shackle mechanism in poles. Such shackle poles require jumpers, or wires which connect ends of two cables.
Videos of Rathva jumping in the river and climbing up the pole went viral on social media and local TV news channels also aired, terming it an act of bravery.
Pravin Ajaykiya, superintending engineer of PGVCL in Junagadh said there was some risk but the team had to take it to restore electricity supply in Manavadar which was reeling under flash flood caused by the very heavy rains. “He is an experienced lineman and he had experience of repairing such faults. Therefore, the deputy engineer called him for doing the job. He knows swimming. But there is some risk involved in this kind of operation. Not every lineman does it. Nor every lineman can do it. Rathva has done PGVCL proud,” Ajaykiya told The Indian Express.
The superintending engineer said that Akhil Gujarat Vidyut Kamdar Sangh, an association of employees of power utilities of Gujarat had declared Rs5000 reward for Rathva “for his act of bravery.”
His heroics in the morning notwithstanding, Rathva reported for duty late in the evening on Tuesday. “I do not think I did anything extraordinary by replacing that jumper. I know swimming and therefore don’t need a life jacket. Power-supply in the line had been cut off before I climbed up the pole to replace the damaged jumper,” said Rathva, who is a native of Pavi Jetpur taluka in tribal-dominated Chhota Udepur district of the state.
Rathva is father of two sons and a daughter. He has been living in Manavadar for the last two decades.
Manavadar, Keshod, Mendarda and Mangrol talukas of Junagadh were flooded on Tuesday following heavy rain. More than 200 persons had to be evacuated to safer places from Manavadar taluka alone. But Ajakiya said that power supply to all the villages in the district had been restored by evening.