KARACHI: An electrocution occurred in Bilal Colony, a dense settlement under high tension electricity network. 10-year-old Tanveer Ahmed was reportedly trying to catch a pigeon on the rooftop of his house, built illegally underneath a transmission line, when due to proximity with the extra high-tension wires running overhead, he got electrocuted. Two others sustained minor burns during the rescue efforts.
K-Electric's spokesperson expressed "grief" saying, "Our Extra High Tension (EHT) transmission network was completely intact and in line with national electricity standards. This incident and others like it are caused due to unchecked multi-storeyed encroachment of KE's utility right of way (ROW). Throughout the world, nothing can be built under or close to high voltage power lines as this violates promulgated safe distance requirements and becomes a fatal safety hazard for people.
Unfortunately, weak administrative controls to check encroachment compounded by lack of proper planning has resulted in much of KE's infrastructure being encroached.
While these encroachments are a public safety hazard and can cause electrocutions, sadly there is little that KE can do about them as dealing with encroachments is the purview of building controls authorities and anti-encroachment bodies.
We have written thousands of letters to various law enforcement bodies and government functionaries, highlighting over 5000 specific instances of encroachment around electrical network in the areas of Orangi, Uthal, Bin Qasim, Johar, Korangi, Surjani, Gulshan Defence and generally in whole Karachi.
Similarly, underground power cables routes are also encroached by construction. Thus illegal excavation work damages our cables and may lead to fatal accidents, while construction over buried cable circuit routes restricts maintenance and fault rectification leading to prolonged electricity interruptions."
The implied correlation, according to KE spokesperson, between encroachment and electrocution is strengthened when reviewing some recent electrocution incidents.
In Surjani Town, 3 children were electrocuted while flying kits in an illegal settlement under a transmission line. Their kite string came into contact with power conductor claiming the life of one child while injuring two others. A building under construction in the All Pakistan Press (APP) Society in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, extended beyond its boundaries, encroaching nearby electrical wires. Some labourers working at the site were injured due to electrocution when the long iron rods carried by them came in contact with the power system.
Similarly, in Liaquatabad Town on June 28, 2020, a construction worker was killed after suffering electric shock while working on an illegal under-construction building. Encroachments being a leading cause of fatal accidents is further cemented by the collapse of a five-storey building being illegally constructed in Rizvia building in March which resulted in the death of 27 people and the collapse of another five-storey building located in Lyari's Kalri area which killed six and injured twelve. Such constructions flout building by-laws, damage electrical infrastructure, endangers' residents and demonstrate continued failure of the requisite authorities and other functionaries.
A cause of concern is also the public attitude towards personal safety. According to SBCA spokesperson even though the collapsed buildings had been declared dangerous, eviction notices had been issued and electricity and gas connections had been disconnected prior to the accident, the tenants continued to live in the building arranging illegal electricity connections placing themselves in harms way.
According to K-Electric's spokesperson, "Encroachments not only endanger civilians, but also create bottlenecks for power supply by limiting access to electricity infrastructure and hindering routine maintenance efforts and all these issues aggravate during monsoon on account of urban flooding.
Public safety is a collective responsibility; all entities including individuals themselves must play their due role to ensure an enabling environment that supports the health and well-being of citizens alongside safe service delivery."
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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