Loss of lives painful

The electrocution of employees working in Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) has been witnessed for a long time and one of the Imtiyaz Ahmad Shah of Chattabal was the latest such example who died after receiving an electric shock while doing some repair work on a power line. There is no let-up in the electrocution incidents that keep happening across Kashmir. On Monday, a lineman lost his life due to electrocution in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. Interestingly, this time, it was not the lineman but an Inspector who became the victim of the electric shock. However, the question that continues to remain unanswerable is to why the electricity was restored when the maintenance work was going on. It seems that the authorities concerned hardly bother to ensure the safety of their men. Despite claiming high and tall about providing all the necessary equipment to the field employees, the majority of them have been seen restoring the lines and doing other maintenance work without using any such equipment, which puts a question mark over the safety measures being provided by the department concerned. Visiting the bereaved family and announcing the ex-gratia is no way a solution to end the problem, but the fact is the issue needs to be resolved by putting an end to such incidents once for all. In this particular incident, the government needs to investigate the matter properly and those who are found culpable should be dealt with strictly so that the responsibility is fixed and such incidents are put an end.