Hyderabad: The city is facing a serious threat of electrocution as thousands of wires continue to hang loosely from electric poles across the city. With poles installed every 30 to 40 meters, the extent of the problem is evident and alarming.Over the past few months, this hazard has already claimed at least 15 lives, including one on Independence Day and another during the Krishna Janmashtami procession. Even those lying on footpaths have become victims to poor cables. In June, two footpath dwellers died due to electrocution at LB Nagar after a high tension wire snapped and fell on them.On Aug 15, an electrician died of electrocution while making preparations for Independence Day at a private hotel in Jeedimetla. In a similar incident a month ago, a 32-year-old private worker from Kukatpally was electrocuted while trying to tie a flexi for a festival to be organised at a local temple. The victim, climbed an arch to tie the flexi when he came in contact with an overhead high-tension wire and was electrocuted on spot. The danger extends beyond Hyderabad, with NCRB records confirming at least two electrocution-related deaths in the state per day. During 2020-2022, more than 2,200 people died due to electrocution across the state. In 2020 alone, over 800 lost their lives to electrocution.Although TGSPDCL claims to have cleared high-tension (HT) cables, low-tension (LT) wires still dangle precariously along residential streets, putting citizens at constant risk. “We have cleared dangling wires on all main corridors. However, in the colonies, we are struggling to clear them due to backlash from local vendors and players. In fact, our electric poles are being used for all kinds of cables, compromising the safety of our LT lines,” said an official from TGSPDCL.‘Unused cable caused accident’Meanwhile, officials at TGSPDCL said that the Ramanthapur accident, which claimed five lives, occurred when an unused cable, strung between two buildings, fell onto an 11 KV overhead line. The impact caused the live current to pass through the copper wiring of the fallen cable, which in turn came into contact with an iron-framed chariot, leading to the incident.They further clarified that the electricity department had no role in negligence, as the 11 KV line at the spot stands at a height of more than 20 feet, and an aerial bundled cable was already installed earlier in place of the LT overhead line. The main cause, they noted, was the private cable improperly connected between buildings.
