Watch | Why do so many electrical accidents happen in Bengaluru?
The Hindu
Why do so many electrocutions happen in Bengaluru, turning footpaths into potential death traps? The Hindu spoke to a former advisory member of the KERC, MG Prabhakar.
On November 19, after celebrating Deepavali in Tamil Nadu, 23-year-old Soundharya and her nine-month-old daughter Suviksha returned to Bengaluru, along with her husband Santosh Kumar. After deboarding a bus at Silk Board junction, the family took a bus to Hope Farm junction in the city’s eastern part.
What followed were moments of horror. The young mother and her baby were charred to death on the footpath they were walking on. They had stepped on a live electrical conductor that had snapped. Kumar, who tried to save his wife and daughter, also suffered an electric shock.
The tragic accident caused an uproar in the city, with the public and political leaders from the Opposition demanding swift action and accountability.
However, this was not an isolated incident. According to statistics shared by the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom), which has jurisdiction over eight districts, including Karnataka’s capital, between the financial years 2018-19 and 2023-24 (until October), there have been 607 fatal electrical accidents. While 572 of them were non-departmental (members of the public), 35 of them were departmental.
Apart from this, there were also 203 non-fatal, non-departmental accidents, and 168 non-fatal departmental accidents in these five years.
Why do so many electrocutions happen in the city, turning footpaths into potential death traps? The Hindu spoke to a former advisory member of the KERC, MG Prabhakar.
Victims are also not aware of the legal action they can take. We spoke to advocate Shridhar Prabhu.
Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar clarifies Rahul Gandhi's message was simply to continue good work, dismissing any speculation.
Over 51,000 hearings in Ernakulam help reinstate voting rights as part of the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls.
The foundation stone for the construction of Shri Parashurama Swagata Gopura (Welcome Tower) in the northern entry to Udupi city will be laid by Yashpal Suvarna, Udupi MLA and president of Shiroor Mutt Paryaya Swagata Samiti on January 16.
The municipal bus stand auditorium in Malappuram was packed. But nobody quite knew what to expect. After all, a new event was making its debut at the State School Arts Festival. The moment V.G. Harikrishnan started his rendition of Pyar bhare do sharmile nain..., everyone was convinced that Ghazal was here to stay. The student from GVHSS, Atholi (Kozhikode), was applauded loudly for his rendering of the timeless ghazal sung originally by Mehdi Hassan.
Join influential discussions at The Hindu Lit for Life festival in Chennai on January 17-18, 2024.
For the last few weeks, several wards in Madurai city have been getting piped drinking water through a new drinking water scheme. The sweetness of the generously supplied water has led to loss of business to several suppliers of canned drinking water in the city. But, not many know that the water supplied to the houses in Madurai is directly drawn from Lower Dam of Mullaperiyar Dam in Idukki district of Kerala.
A 20-acre farm on the St Xavier’s College campus at Thumba run by State Award-winning farmer S.V. Sujith had visitors from the Iowa State University, U.S., on Tuesday.
NGT issues notices to U.P., M.P., and Rajasthan over sewage contamination in drinking water, citing serious health risks.
Last-minute Pongal shoppers crowd Tiruchi's markets, boosting sales for traders amid rising prices for fruits and festive items.
Confusing coalitions and absent accountability raise voter concerns as Mumbai's civic elections approach amidst air quality neglect.
Train No. 16511 KSR Bengaluru-Kannur overnight express via Mangaluru Central will continue to originate from Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal, Bengaluru (SMVTB) and skip KSR Bengaluru till March 11.
Mehbooba Mufti condemns police profiling of mosques in Kashmir as a threat to Muslim faith and religious freedom.
The Parasakthi team celebrates Pongal with PM Modi in New Delhi, featuring notable actors and music composer G.V. Prakash Kumar.