Overhead electric wires endangering residents

The overhead power supply distribution network is posing grave threats to the residents of smaller sectors and rural areas of the federal capital. Sectors including E, F, G, H and I-8 have been provided underground power supply system excluding sectors I-9, I-10 and rural areas, despite the fact that these areas are thickly populated and wire run just next to rooftops.
Inhabiting majority of middle or lower middle class, residents of these sectors have been deprived of the facility of underground wire and number of incidents of electric shock have reportedly harmed the residents.
Such an example is of a small 7-year old girl Nawaal who touched the high power wire from the rooftop in 2005 suffering severe shock. As her clothes caught fire, her front body right from waist up to neck was completely burnt. The minor girl is still undergoing reconstruction surgeries due to acute damage to skin and body parts.
"Why this injustice to these sectors. Why to keep wires open, running through the trees and just next to houses, knowing that any incident like one we suffered, may happen again," regretted the father of this minor girl. "When the authorities will pay heed to this dilemma."
Haphazardly hanging wires, improperly located poles without any proper standard safety measures around them, are permanent features of these sectors, contrary to posh sectors where cables have been laid underground and transformers are covered to the satisfactory level. "Hanging wires near to my home show that the city administrators have no concern about our lives. Installation of poles along residences is illogical. It really can prove dangerous," said Wakeel Ahmed a resident of sector I-10/4.
Shayan Ahmed, an engineer, said though the overhead power supply network is cost-effective, but it should not be at the cost of human lives. Human lives are more precious than anything else. "The underground system is storm-proof, theft-proof as well as shock proof," he commented.
The overhead system gets more risky for the city like Islamabad, situated in the foothills of Margalla. The situation deteriorates during the extreme weather conditions when trees touch overhead line that knocks out the power distribution system, annoying the residents.
Tree-trimming is inevitable to avert the impact of storms on the system and reduce number of power outage, but unfortunately the concerned quarters give no importance to the issue. According to experts, the underground system is long-lasting solution while the overhead system is more vulnerable to thefts as well as technical faults.
Sometime, the ground copper wires are also cut by the thieves taking away the safety feature preventing the electricity or lightning from hurting people. "The risk of death increases on a rainy, damp or misty day as damp skin reduces resistance to electricity and wet skin provides direct path to conduct electricity to one's heart," said Dr Mehboob Elahi, a resident of sector I-10/3.
Lack of maintenance of electric poles by the concerned authorities is another problem. They seldom pay heed to this problem as some half-broken poles can also be seen in the rural areas of the city and their collapse would prove deadly for the residents, who say, their complaints go unheard. When contacted CDA's Director Electrical and Mechanical Kher Mohammed Sethar said the Southern side of the federal capital is deprived of this facility but failed to ascertain the reason, excusing on ground that it was done by the predecessors. He said the underground system is five-time costlier than the overhead distribution system. Another CDA official said under the Master Plan, I-sector was supposed to be built as labour colony and it had not the provision of underground power distribution system.