CHENNAI: Two days after a 42-year-old man who was returning home after dropping his children at school died after an overhead high-tension cable snapped and fell on him at Nethaji Nagar in Perumbakkam, Tangedco officials have refused to take accountability of the ‘technical error’ that resulted in the accident.
Officials at various levels refused to disclose details as to what went wrong. Residents, however, suspect the circuit breakers that help cut off the power supply when a high-tension cable snaps failed to function. At Nethaji Nagar, residents are afraid of meeting the same fate, throwing nervous glances at the overhead cables each time they step out.
A Siraj, who was having tea a few yards away from where the accident took place, told TNIE, “I heard a thud like an explosion and I panicked. It took me a few minutes to compose myself. By the time, the cable was on the man’s neck, and he died shortly.” Mohammed Ismail, the victim, was a father to children, everyone under 15 years of age, and had been running a small soup stall.
“As far as we know, since the breaker between the substation and the transformer did not function, power continued to flow through the cable even after it broke. When we asked the officials whether this was the case, they immediately denied it, and refused to tell us what actually happened.”
However, official sources at the lower level acknowledged a ‘technical error’ but did not go into the details. MK Alavudheen, another resident, said, “There was no wind on that day, no rain and no tree had fallen. Yet, the cable snapped. Any of us could have died. It will happen again if the government does not take this seriously.”
Meanwhile, Tangedco’s Tambaram Divisional Engineer Asokan met the family of the deceased along with police officials, and handed over a cheque of `5 lakh on Wednesday. But he did not answer questions to TNIE when approached.
Though TNIE contacted officials at various levels in the last two days, they are refusing to reveal details of what went wrong. A day after the incident on Tuesday, a senior official had said, “The probe is on. We will be making a payment of Rs 5 lakh compensation to the family.”
Though it was the first time a person had died of electric shock in the locality, residents said, cattle and dogs getting electrocuted is not uncommon. A senior police officer said an inquiry is on to find out if there was any negligence on the part of Tangedco that could have led to the snapping of the cables. He said as of now section 174 of CrPC has been filed, and if the inquiry reveals that the death was due to negligence, relevant sections will be added.