Srinagar: At least 35 people, including 10 civilians, have been killed by electrocution in the past two years.
“In 2021, a total of 18 people including 4 regular employees, 5 civilians and 9 permanent day laborers (PDL), temporary day laborers (TDL), casual and daily wage workers were killed by electrocution across Kashmir,” it revealed.
Three animals were also electrocuted in separate incidents in 2021, it said, adding that the eight included two regular employees, two civilians and four PDL/TDL/CL/DRW.
The official document further added that there have been 29 fatal and non-fatal electrical accidents in Kashmir in 2021. It added that 10 cases have so far been recommended and six ex gratia relief granted.
It further added that 17 people were also killed by electrocution across the valley in 2022. The document further stated that the dead included five civilians, ten PDL/TDL/CL/DRW and two official employees.
A total of 8 people were injured in 25 electrical accidents in 2022, including 2 permanent employees, 5 PDL/TDL/CL/DRW and 1 civilian. According to the document, so far seven cases have been recommended for ex gratia relief.
According to the document, a total of 19 PDL/TDL/CL/DRW have lost their lives in the past two years, with nine such employees injured in electrical accidents in Silicon Valley.
Kashmir Power Distribution Limited (KPDCL) Chief Engineer Javed Yousuf Dar made it clear that KPDCL takes unfortunate accident cases very seriously and has taken certain measures including providing safety kits like safety tools, helmets, seat belts etc. “We also provide local ground discharge rods that workers can use to ground the line locally. We also provide workers with high voltage detectors that they can use to detect if the line is live even without touching it,” he said.
“We have been working hard to educate and train our employees on the SOPs and to this end we regularly run awareness camps at the sub-departmental level so that employees understand the procedures and measures that are being taken so that they do not face any mishaps or encounter Any accidents. In addition, we are procuring more safety equipment and orders for these equipment have also been fulfilled. Once employees develop the habit of following safety regulations and using safety tools, the number of such accidents will be greatly reduced. About special offers and others way, our casual employees are already covered by the insurance scheme,” he said—(potassium nitrate)
