Time to take stringent action
Staff Correspondent
Port Blair, Feb 03: In a shocking incident one more employees of electricity department got electrocuted today just because some other employees of the same department did not kill the power of High Tension Lines of the area where the victim employee was working with others.
The incident occurred at around 9.30 am today near Fisheries Colony of Nayagaon when a Daily Rated Mazdoor, Mr. Abil Tirkey, the victim, was working to replace a transformer with other fellow employees of Electricity Department.
According to reports the old transfer of the area was brought down earlier and efforts were on to install a new transformer with the help of a crane. Mr. Tirkey, with others was supporting the new transformer to make sure, it is placed at the right place but suddenly the boom of the new transformer came in the contact with the High Tension Line, above, which resulted in electrocution of Mr. Abil Tirkey.
According to eye witnesses Tirkey fell on a very hard surface of the ground, which caused further injuries to the Daily Rated Mazdoor.
Immediately Tirkey was rushed to the G B Pant Hospital, where he was kept under observation in ICU room. According to colleagues of Mr. Tirkey, his condition is still critical. “He has been kept in oxygen. He is unable to speak,” said one of the colleagues of Mr. Tirkey.
This is not first such incident in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In last two year atleast two persons have died in Port Blair city due to electrocution. Recently an employee of Electricity Department was electrocuted at Mayabunder area. There are many other examples in last five years.
This clearly shows that something has terribly wrong with the management of Electricity Department, where safety has become the last priority. Due to mistakes of JEs of the concerned areas, poor linemen and Daily Rated Mazdoors are dying. After every such incident the Administration is ordering a probe, which is yielding zero results, it seems.
Perhaps this is high time for the Administration to take some strict action on those who are responsible for these deaths and incidents of electrocution.
However, after repeated efforts Superintending Engineer of Electricity Department could not be reached over phone.
When contacted the Executive Engineer of Electricity Department told Andaman Sheekha that order has been already passed for a detailed report, to know actual the reasons behind the incident.
“I agree this is a mistake. Though the isolation-switch upto the site of work was switched off but the High Tension Line was not switched off for some reasons. Usually boom never reaches upto HTL, it is purely an accident. We have acute shortage of man power. Though our work has increased nearly 100 percent our manpower did not increase, hence these kind of accidents are taking place,” Mr. P K Singh the Executive Engineer of Electricity Department told Andaman Sheekha today.
It seems that because of the failure of the Administration fix responsibility on negligent and careless officials of electricity department, this kind of incidents are occurring again and again. Hopefully this time the Administration will punish those, for whom Mr. Tirkey is battling with life in ICU.
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