CHENNAI: A live wire fell on a cow electrocuting it on early Wednesday morning in Chitlapakkam area of the city. The incident took place five days after Sethuraj, a resident of the same locality, died after a damaged electric pole fell on him.
The live wire fell from the electric pole which was replaced a day before on Tuesday by local Tangedco officials. Residents said as it was raining, many did not venture out. However, if it wasn't, the live wire could have fallen on anyone passing through Ashtalakshmi street.
In the past month, four people have died due to electrocution in the city. While two of them were Tangedco employees who died while repairing default wires, a 14-year-old died after stepping on a live wire in Mugalivakkam.
On Tuesday officials had replaced seven to eight old and rusted electric poles in Muthulakshmi Nagar in Chitlapakkam out of which three were replaced in Vyasar and Ashtalakshmi street. On the following morning, residents living near the spot found the cow dead and the live wire was lying next to the carcass. Officials said that they cut power supply to that line immediately after residents alerted them around 7 am.
Residents said that they were shocked to find out about the incident the very next day after the pole was replaced. "All the wires were joined with one another using smaller cables. Because of shoddy last-minute work, the smaller wire must have given away making the cable fall on the road," said a resident of Muthulakshmi Nagar.
After Sethuraj's death last week, officials have started to replace all poles in the locality. When Express visited the area it was clear that even the wires needed replacement. "A team of Tangedco officials is looking into the problem. We don't know as of now what caused this to happen. We are taking all necessary steps to avoid future accidents," said a Tangedco official.
L Sundaraman, president of Muthulakshmi Nagar welfare association who is also a former BSNL employee said lack of periodic maintenance was the main cause behind such incidents. He has also given a detailed written complaint to Tangedco about this issue. "The length between the pole from where the wire fell and the next pole was very long. Due to the heavyweight of cables, one gave away. Also, all wires had joints attached to them. Tangedco has to immediately replace all the old wires and erect more new poles," he added.