Express News Service
DEHRADUN: Following the tragedy in which 16 people were electrocuted after a transformer burst in Namami Gange Project in Chamoli, the 11 who were seriously injured have been airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh from Gopeshwar. While six were sent by Wednesday night, the other five were sent on Thursday. The condition of four of the injured remains critical.
Traders across the district, including Gopeshwar, Pipalkoti, Joshimath, Karnprayag and Gochar, kept their establishments closed as a mark of respect to the deceased. On Thursday, eleven of the victims were cremated together on the banks of the Alaknanda in Chamoli. Five had been cremated on Wednesday. People from across the region came to pay homage to the victims.
“Prima facie investigation has observed that if a high current had passed through the meter, it would have burst, but it is completely safe,” Uttarakhand Power Corporation Director (Operations) M L Prasad told .
“Preliminary investigations have not revealed negligence on the part of any of our staff. The distribution panel burned down, indicating that a short circuit may have occurred, leading to a glitch in the changeover switch,” Prasad said.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached Gopeshwar on Thursday and met kin of the victims in Chamoli. Meanwhile, Congress workers started a ruckus outside the police guest house and sat on a sit-in. On the other hand, BJP workers also started shouting slogans against the Congress.
Later in Chamoli, Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya, Manish Khanduri and MLA Rajendra Bhandari met the Chief Minister and demanded compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the families of the victims and a job to one of the family members. Party workers then again went to the protest site at the gate of the district hospital where they raised slogans like “Chief Minister go back”.
Congress leader Harak Singh Rawat said, “This is not an accident, but a major negligence on the part of the government and administration. The culprits should be booked for murder. The energy department is with the chief minister, so if the CM feels any pain from the incident, he should resign on moral grounds.”
1661 people have been electrocuted in Uttarakhand since the formation of the state
In Uttarakhand, 1661 people have lost their lives due to electrocution since the formation of the state in 2000, while 206 fire accidents have occurred due to electric short circuits across the state.
Surprisingly, there has not been a single year between 2001 and 2023 when there have been no accidental deaths due to electrocution.
According to sources in the Power Corporation, except for eight deaths in 2008, 26 to 160 people have died every year.
As many as 439 people have been seriously injured, many of whom have been disabled for life. In 2017, the highest number of 160 people died due to electrocution.
DEHRADUN: Following the tragedy in which 16 people were electrocuted after a transformer burst in Namami Gange Project in Chamoli, the 11 who were seriously injured have been airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh from Gopeshwar. While six were sent by Wednesday night, the other five were sent on Thursday. The condition of four of the injured remains critical.
Traders across the district, including Gopeshwar, Pipalkoti, Joshimath, Karnprayag and Gochar, kept their establishments closed as a mark of respect to the deceased. On Thursday, eleven of the victims were cremated together on the banks of the Alaknanda in Chamoli. Five had been cremated on Wednesday. People from across the region came to pay homage to the victims.
“Prima facie investigation has observed that if a high current had passed through the meter, it would have burst, but it is completely safe,” Uttarakhand Power Corporation Director (Operations) M L Prasad told .googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
“Preliminary investigations have not revealed negligence on the part of any of our staff. The distribution panel burned down, indicating that a short circuit may have occurred, leading to a glitch in the changeover switch,” Prasad said.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached Gopeshwar on Thursday and met kin of the victims in Chamoli. Meanwhile, Congress workers started a ruckus outside the police guest house and sat on a sit-in. On the other hand, BJP workers also started shouting slogans against the Congress.
Later in Chamoli, Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya, Manish Khanduri and MLA Rajendra Bhandari met the Chief Minister and demanded compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the families of the victims and a job to one of the family members. Party workers then again went to the protest site at the gate of the district hospital where they raised slogans like “Chief Minister go back”.
Congress leader Harak Singh Rawat said, “This is not an accident, but a major negligence on the part of the government and administration. The culprits should be booked for murder. The energy department is with the chief minister, so if the CM feels any pain from the incident, he should resign on moral grounds.”
1661 people have been electrocuted in Uttarakhand since the formation of the state
In Uttarakhand, 1661 people have lost their lives due to electrocution since the formation of the state in 2000, while 206 fire accidents have occurred due to electric short circuits across the state.
Surprisingly, there has not been a single year between 2001 and 2023 when there have been no accidental deaths due to electrocution.
According to sources in the Power Corporation, except for eight deaths in 2008, 26 to 160 people have died every year.
As many as 439 people have been seriously injured, many of whom have been disabled for life. In 2017, the highest number of 160 people died due to electrocution.
