BENGALURU: Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) has come under the scanner due to the spate of electrocution cases among children in the recent past. In a bid to curb such instances, it is now planning to conduct awareness programmes among schoolchildren on the issue of ensuring safety near electrical devices and wires.
“We will start with students of government schools as they are the ones who walk to school normally. They may come across exposed wires, or fiddle with junction boxes. The programme will educate children about being careful in dangerous situations. For example, we would explain to them about not stepping into a puddle of water touching electric wires, as water is a good conductor of current, or not playing with junction boxes or electric poles, and staying clear of any open wires,” Krishnamurthy B, general manager, customer relations, BESCOM, said.
He also referred to possible instances where children may use sticks to reach out to kites stuck in wires or trees near electric poles. In April, a 13-year-old boy, who had climbed a tree to pluck mangoes, got electrocuted when he used a wet stick to reach the fruit and did not notice a live wire passing through the tree. On May 11, an eight-month-old baby boy living in a shed at an under-construction building was electrocuted after he crawled into the junction box in his parents’ absence.
BESCOM personnel will also raise awareness among adults on the issue. “We will talk to parents and other adults about not exposing children to electrical items. We will do so through customer interaction meetings that are held once a month at the sub-divisional level,” Krishnamurthy said, talking about how buildings are often constructed too close to electrical lines in the absence of proper regulation.
“Those repairing and maintaining the network on ground will distribute pamphlets with some Dos and Dont’s at independent houses and apartments,” Krishnamurthy said, adding that safety videos will also be made and circulated on the social media.With the upcoming monsoon season, BESCOM believes this initiative is timely and much-needed, owing to greater risk of electrical shocks during rains.