: In a shocking incident, a 12-year-old boy was electrocuted near his house at Srinivasarao Thota on Tuesday evening after he came in touch with a live wire on a transformer.
Kolla Sudarshan, a school-going kid, was trying to retrieve a shuttlecock which fell on a pillar supporting the transformer when he accidentally touched the wire. The transformer was located at a touching distance of 4 feet above the ground with no fencing or danger signal on the wall.
His father, Ramesh, a lorry driver, blamed the Electricity Department. “We have raised the matter with department personnel on several occasions, but no action was taken,’’ he said.
In a similar incident which took place on Monday night, M. Venkata Naveen Kumar was electrocuted on Nandivelugu Road. Kumar was speaking on his mobile phone when he accidentally touched a transformer.
His relatives staged a dharna blocking traffic on the Guntur-Tenali Road and relented only after electricity and police officers promised suitable compensation and a job for a family member.
In both cases, the transformers are placed on cement pillars at a low height and with no proper fencing.
A distribution transformer is an important link between any utility’s distribution network and the power supply delivered to customer. It is therefore the most vital asset in any electrical distribution network and needs special attention right from erection, commissioning and maintenance.
But the department seems to be in no mood to take remedial action. “Most of the transformers were placed long time back and later, roads were constructed. In some cases, people encroached upon roads and built walls. We have fenced transformers wherever possible,’’ Superintendent Engineer Jayabharath Rao said.
The Electrical Inspectorate Department, which is supposed to conduct an investigation into fatal and non-fatal electrical accidents and analyse the causes and recommend remedial measures, exists only on paper.
Most often, the deaths are reduced to mere number and end up in police records after cases are registered under Section 174 of Cr.P.C.
The Electricity Act, 2003 and the Indian Electricity Rules, 1956, have laid clear guidelines on electrical installations.
There should be a minimum distance of 2.5 metres on lines passing over flat roofs, open balcony, verandah and 3.7 metres for high voltage lines up to 33kV.
