Chennai, Sept 21: Following the demise of the Chitlapakkam resident Sethuraj after an EB pole fell on him Wednesday, residents have urged the officials to implement underground cables in the suburbs at the earliest.
Speaking to News Today, Sarvamangala Nagar Residents Welfare Association Secretary M Ravi said though several damaged EB poles were changed after Cyclone Vardah, many cables are yet to be set right. “Several cables are left with patch works and disaster can strike anytime, if they are not repaired at the earliest. Considering the number of poles and wires damaged, instead of replacing them, it is better to implement the underground cables,” he said.
Following the incident, several damaged EB poles have been replaced with better ones. However, residents say that more work has to be done. Residents have also asked the officials to fix stay wires for the remaining posts which will act as an added protection for the posts from falling.
“There are several such posts all around Chitlapakkam, where TNEB has clearly neglected any monitoring and fixing,” said Sunil Jayaram of Chitlapakkam Rising. During the Assembly session held in July this year, Minister P Thangamani said the project of laying underground cable in the suburban area has been sanctioned and tender has been floated for 1,230 kms. “Survey for the work is happening and work will begin after the survey is done,” he had said.
The project which was supposed to be kick-started last year was a non-starter due to unknown reasons. Meanwhile, low lying EB lines in the locality has also worried the residents. The residents also requested the officials to find a solution to reroute the high tension wires that are passing through residential areas.
“We have given several letters stressing the necessity to remove the cables. If the officials had acted on it, we would have not lost two innocent lives who were electrocuted last year,” said Sasidharan, a resident of Avvai Nagar in Selaiyur.
In one of the gruesome incidents, one-and-a-half-year-old Kishore got electrocuted from a high-tension EB line and died on the spot in Selaiyur April 2018. Not only that, two others, one of them a school girl, got electrocuted while trying to save the child.