A plumber working in an under-construction building at Manjunath Nagar, near West of Chord Road, sustained 80% burns on Monday after he was electrocuted on coming close to a high tension (HT) power line near the site.
This is the fourth electrocution case reported this month. The city has been witnessing a spate of electrocution cases since February this year.
The victim, Satish, 26, has been admitted to the burns ward of Victoria Hospital.
Sources said the incident took place around 6.30 p.m. Satish was shifting some material on the first floor when he came close to an HT line and was electrocuted.
The building, according to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials, is unauthorised and does not have any sanction from the civic body.
Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun and her deputy Bhadre Gowda visited the spot on Tuesday morning, accompanied by senior officials of BBMP and the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL). Officials apprised the Mayor that a notice had already been served on the building owner to stop the illegal construction immediately. The officials were instructed to file an FIR against the building owner.
Local councillor G. Krishna Murthy said, following complaints from residents of the area, he had apprised both BBMP and KPTCL about the illegal construction. “A notice was issued, but no other action was taken,” he said.
Ms. Mallikarjun told The Hindu that no construction is to be allowed under any HT wire in the city. “Both the BBMP and KPTCL officials knew of the illegal construction. However, apart from issuing notices, they failed to initiate further action. They are now blaming procedural delays in taking up demolition of the illegal structure,” she pointed out and added that she would write to the Urban Development Department, KPTCL and BBMP commissioner to ensure that demolition of structures close to HT wires are taken up immediately to prevent untoward incidents.
“I will also urge the BBMP commissioner to initiate stringent action against officials who failed to take action immediately. Their excuse of waiting for job codes to be sanctioned doesn’t hold water,” she said.
She said that civic utilities had identified over 7,000 buildings across the city that are close to HT wires. She has directed officials to immediately stop any on-going construction activity under HT lines and also issue notices to other buildings that have come up under such wires.
“We have to act immediately, as it is a matter of public safety,” she added.
