Residents of Louis Nagar in the district headquarters town had a scare around noon on Wednesday when a low-slung 11-kv line snapped and fell on the road, right in the middle of this residential locality. What frightened them was that it took A.P. Central Power Distribution Company officials nearly 45 minutes to react to the frantic calls and cut power supply.
According to local people, at about 11.30 a.m., the power line snapped and fell on the road. An alert resident was said to have alerted officials, but till the time help arrived, they panicked, holding children close to themselves and watching the scene on the road. “Because it was a hot afternoon, our children were not on the road, but we are scared to think what would have happened, if it had occurred sometime later in the evening,” said a relieved mother of three, Mary (40), and Swapna (30), who had two young children.
Sunkisala Venkateshwarlu and Richard lamented the apathy of officials. A few years ago, this whole colony was agricultural lands and hence we had 11-kv power lines running through the area. “Although we brought the matter to the notice of officials, no action was taken,” they fumed. At around 12.15 p.m. officials reached the spot, ordered power supply to be cut and took stock of the situation.
