Two bike riders on Tuesday had a miraculous escape after a dangling overhead power cable of Tangedco stopped short of slashing their neck at Thathaneri here..
Tangedco staff had taken up maintenance work in the area.
The injured men, M. Irudhaya Jerald, 26, and V. Anand Kumar, 28, said there was no sign board warning road users about the work in progress nor any barricade to keep them away from the power cable.
Anand Kumar of Thathaneri said Jerald, who was from Anaiyur, came to pick him up for some work at Iyer Bungalow. Jerald was riding the motorbike and he rode pillion. When they were near Alamaram bus stop at Thathaneri, a dangling overhead cable encircled Jerald’s neck. Even before, he realised what happened, the bike had moved a few yards and the cable tightened around his throat.
“Luckily, he was riding the bike at a slow speed and managed to stop the bike,” said Anand Kumar.
However, Jerald’s throat was severely skinned, causing a lot of pain. Anand Kumar sustained injury on his hand. “Had he been riding at a higher speed, his throat could have been slashed,” he said.
As they took stock of the situation, they saw that Tangedco staff had taken up maintenance work and had cut down a wire and left it dangling on the road. Though around a dozen workers were working at the spot, no one cared to hold a red flag to warn road users about the wire
"When we questioned them, the workers appeared to be unconcerned about our injuries and did not express any regret for their negligence," he said.
When Anand Kumar alerted police personnel at the outpost, Jerald had to walk up to him to show his injury.. "The police officer showed no interest in helping us or taking our complaint," he said.
There was no offer of first aid either from Tangedco workers or the police.
"We should thank our stars that no other vehicle followed us closely. Otherwise, a speeding heavy vehicle could have crushed us both after we stopped suddenly," he said.
Claiming that the issue was not brought to her knowledge, a senior Tangedco official said the workers were asked to take precautionary measures while taking up such works.
Only a few days ago, a worker employed by a contractor was killed after being buried alive while taking up underground drainage work for Madurai Corporation at Ramamurthy Nagar. Failure to adhere to safety precautions had led to the death of the worker from Erode.
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