Chennai: The Tamilnadu government has constituted a one-member Commission of Inquiry (COI) to probe the Thanjavur car festival tragedy and suggest measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future.
Revenue Secretary Kumar Jayant will head the COI to look into the reasons for electrocution deaths that claimed 11 lives at at Kalimedu in Thanjavur district and submit a report to the government with recommendations to avoid such accidents in future. Sources said the Commission has started its probe and will submit report to the government at the earliest.
Officials said when the āsapparamā (a small chariot carrying an idol) was made to turn, it was dragged to a side because of the weight of the generator. Its upper portion came in contact with a live wire.
‘The 33-KV high-tension electricity supply got disconnected automatically within 0.19 seconds (or 190 milliseconds), owing to the ārelay indicationā, soon after the upper portion of the āsapparamā, which had metal frames
and was decorated with serial lighting, came into contact with the high tension live wires,’ they said.
The 33-KV power lines were passing the area at a ‘safe height’ of 23 feet, officials said.
‘Though the power was automatically disrupted, the generator on the āsapparamā kept supplying power to the serial lights. ‘People there threw water on the fire and tried to stop the generator leading to the fire
and electrical shocks.’
A total of 11 persons died in the accident, they said, adding, the tragedy might have happened since the generator has been functioning, supplying power to the serial lights, though the supply through the 33- KV high-tension
lines was disrupted.
Though the āsapparamā had a foldable upper portion, it was not folded when it was made to turn. ‘Had the upper portion been folded, this accident could have been avoided’, they said.