The recent negligent episode that took place in Siolim when one Line helper Krishna Pawar's was electrocuted brings to fore the safety aspect of such workers.
The Electricity Department has not made any improvement to see that the workers working on power lines are protected and work safely while on duty.
The department should make it mandatory to see that the staff working in maintenance are qualified people with certificates. Knowledge of electricity should be a must to avoid accidents such as this.
The department has to erect new modern poles that make it easy to climb where the safety belt can be hooked up and proper isolation is done by the line staff on the job himself.
I would suggest that proper cable channels are installed on the pole itself and the connections are dropped down into the distribution DB at the foot of the poles for better and safe working.
We are a nation that speaks of high progress but we cannot find a simple solution to save our poor linesman from being killed.
