The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : ‘Death caused due to theft of electricity

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Friday, Jun 22, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Others

‘Death caused due to theft of electricity

Staff Reporter

District in dire need of 400 linemen
30 per cent connections by illegal means

Sangareddy: The Medak Transco superintending engineer Ch. Ashok Reddy has attributed the recent shock waves that took the life of one person and burnt down several electronic gadgets in different parts of the district to power theft and gale. Speaking to The Hindu Ashok Reddy pointed out that in the case of Venkatapur mandal where a woman was electrocuted on Saturday, the consumers had meddled with the 11 kv line resulting in her death.

Suspended

He said that the linemen and the line inspector have been suspended following the incident. He said that the incident, which occurred in Tummunur village of Manoor mandal, was because of the collapse of the 33 kv line.

Defective wiring

Transco officials who were reprimanded by the Chief Minister have begun taking remedial steps. Mr Ashok Reddy said that first they would like to control the theft of power in the single-phase category, particularly in remote mandals like Kangti, Narayankhed and Manoor. He pointed out that those who tap power by illegal means do not have proper meter or fuse connections, making their houses vulnerable to earthing.

He said that more than 30 per cent of domestic connections in remote areas of the district tap power through illegal means. Explaining the reasons why even television sets gave shocks. the Transco officers say that the cable lines, which were tied to the electric poles, could also cause extensive damage.

Shortage of staff

Even though the onus of educating the rural consumers on the dangers of power theft was on the Transco and the public representatives, the severe shortage of linemen was also contributing to the problem.

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