Amidst the raging protest over the electrocution of a 48-year-old dairy farmer near Vaikom, a preliminary investigation by the Electrical Inspectorate in Kottayam has pointed to serious lapses on the part of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
According to James Kutty Thomas, Electrical Inspector, the power line had been lying abandoned for long though the KSEB officials appeared to have no clue about it. “This was an accident long waiting to happen as the line had been active despite complaints from the public,” he said.
While the protocol stipulated that the KSEB officials should conduct patrols and inspect the power cables on a periodic basis, none of them seemed to have visited the location for long.
A common issue
“The instances of low-lying power cables, damaged power poles and obsolete power lines have been so common across the low-lying region from Vaikom to Kumarakom. At the same time, the employees at the KSEB section offices here are being rotated on a regular basis for no solid reasons,” the official added.
The KSEB officials, meanwhile, clarified that the line had not been disconnected as it was used an interlink to provide electricity in case of a breakdown of the existing lines.
K.V. Raju of Padinjarekkara in Udayanapuram, near Vaikom, was electrocuted the other day when he went to a field nearby his residence to cut grass.
Eyewitness accounts suggested that the the power line had snapped and fallen to the ground about three months ago. The power line that passed through the field had fallen into disuse after the KSEB drew a new cable along a nearby road.
No inspections held
Despite several complaints from the local residents against the delay in clearing the obsolete line, the KSEB officials had not inspected the line.
Rahul Raj, son of the deceased, told media persons that the KSEB officials did not even attend his phone calls to inform them about the electrocution. “While attempting to rescue my father, who was lying on the field, I too suffered a mild shock. The body could be retrieved only after people removed the fuse of the power line,” he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, irate residents had stormed the KSEB section office at Vaikom and damaged a couple of motorcycles parked there.