Chennai: It was a nice gesture by the Valasaravakkam division of TANGEDCO to join hands with the residents of Saligramam, Virugambakkam and Valasaravakkam in the city to protect them from a shocking hazard.
For past six months, residents of Saligramam and Virugambakkam had been submitting petitions to the Valasaravakkam Division office of the State power supply body to repair transformers and withered HT lines in the locality. According to petitions, frequent power shutdowns were caused by the damaged transformers.
The complaint came after three stray cattle were found dead near the transformer in Harikrishna Street in Saligramam a couple of weeks ago.
“They died due to electrocution. It probably should have taken place in the middle of the rain the previous night,” said Murali Krishnan, a resident.
Following this, residents of Harikrishna Street and a couple of other streets adjacent to it reported the incident to TANGEDCO officials.
Murali said, “At least 50 children are present in just these three streets alone. We fear mainly for the safety of these children. So, we met many people from localities around Saligramam including Kamaraj Salai, Arunachalam Road, LV Prasad Road, Barani Nagar, Devi Karumari Nagar among others and raised a complaint to the local officials.”
The complaint was forwarded by local officials to the district headquarters. However, there was no response from authorities initially, according to residents.
“We kept on pressing the division officials again and again. So, finally, after few discussions we landed on a conclusion,” Murali said. It was to set up a netted cage around all transformers in the locality by themselves.
The TANGEDCO officials of Valasarvakkam Division informed all localities in their jurisdiction about the issue.
A senior resident from Saligramam, Narayanan said, “The TANGEDCO asked us to look into this matter immediately and find a solution. Initially, we were not interested as we already pay taxes for this. But, we realised that there has to be some temporary measure at least.”
Following this, the residents in the area, through their residents associations in Valasaravakkam, Virugambakkam and Saligramam jointly raised funds among themselves by sharing minimum amounts and raised a netted cage around all the transformers.
“The netted cage is little flexible. Though it cannot withstand heavyweights of adults, it does at least keep children safe for area for time being,” said a top TANGEDCO official from the division speaking to ‘News Today’.
The official said he has insisted his higher authorities to come up with a permanent measure as well. Reach Murali at 9994539697.