The electrocution of a senior linesman at the sewage treatment plant at Katem-Baina, Vasco exposes the manner in which the electricity department functions. The incident occurred when the linesman attempted to repair a fuse for a transformer. His hand accidentally touched a high-tension wire and he tumbled off the ladder. The sad part of this episode is that his 15-year old daughter, who is studying in the SSC, is now an orphan, having lost her mother to dengue in June last year. The incident raises questions over the work conditions of linesmen. Why was he not wearing safety gloves and shoes? Are these items provided to linesmen? What is the protocol to be followed when working on high tension lines? It is obvious that linesmen are sent out to undertake dangerous jobs without supervision. It is also possible that some of them find wearing gloves and shoes cumbersome and with no senior staff to enforce the rule, accidents happen. This death must not be swept under the carpet. The department must reinforce the rules that make it mandatory for linesmen to wear protective equipment. Senior staff responsible for linesmen must be taken to task for dereliction of duty and a stricter protocol needs to be put in place for attending to faults. Only stringent rules and measures will prevent another death from occurring in the future.
