1,166 fatal electrical accidents in a decade in GESCOM limits

Electrical accidents in GESCOM jurisdiction have caused 1,166 deaths and 867 injuries over a decade, despite significant safety spending.

Despite years of safety measures and high spending, electrical accidents remain a persistent threat in Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company Limited (GESCOM) jurisdiction, resulting in 1,166 deaths and 867 non-fatal injuries over the past decade (from 2015 to 2025), according to official data.

As per data available with The Hindu, 1,166 deaths, 867 non-fatal injuries and 2,588 livestock deaths have been recorded over the past decade, underlining the continuing safety risks posed by electrical infrastructure in both urban and rural areas.

Despite spending ₹228.76 crore as capital expenditure to prevent such accidents between 2015 and November 2025, the number of fatal and non-fatal incidents has not shown any significant decline over the years.

The highest number of human fatalities was reported in 2020-21 with 130 deaths, followed by 114 deaths in 2019-20 and 100 deaths in 2021-22.

Non-fatal cases have remained consistently high, indicating that a large number of people continue to be exposed to electrical hazards.

Livestock deaths too remain a major concern, with 277 animals killed in 2023-24 and 275 in 2020-21, reflecting the vulnerability of rural power distribution systems.