VISAKHAPATNAM/SRIKAKULAM: In a tragic incident, a youngster was electrocuted when he came in contact with a live wire at a Ganesh pandal at Drivers Colony of Pedagantyada in Gajuwaka police station limits Friday evening. The deceased has been identified as PV Sai Kumar (19), a resident of the colony and a degree second year student in the Shipyard Degree College.
According to Gajuwaka inspector M Apparao, Sai Kumar was an active organiser of the Ganesh pandal in the Colony. After heavy rain lashed the area for almost two hours, the organisers started clearing the pandal area of the flexis and other waste. Power supply was also cut off from 3 pm to 5 pm as a precautionary measure. “The organisers were clearing the flexis when all of a sudden power supply was restored and thinking that electricity was still off, Sai touched a live wire and was electrocuted,” said the inspector. The locals took Sai to the nearest hospital but he died while undergoing treatment.
Police also said that they had inspected the place recently and found that everything was alright.
But due to the heavy rain Friday afternoon and earlier in the morning, the organisers had to make way for a milk van by disturbing poles, wires and flexis, leading to the incident.
“If the organisers had switched off the main line before cleaning the premises, the tragedy would not have happened,” the inspector added.
In a separate incident, daily labourer T Asirayya (40) was electrocuted when he came in contact with a live wire in fields at the back side of the his house at Bukkuru village of Palakonda mandal in Srikakulam district.
According to sources, Asirayya climbed a tree to pluck drum-sticks when he got in contact with a live wire of LT electrical connectivity line and was electrocuted.
Asirayya died on the spot and the locals who noticed him intimated the police. The Palakonda police have registered a case.