Electricity poles obstructing roads invite fatal mishaps

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, September 20

As the PSPCL and the Municipal Corporation, here, have failed to shift or remove electricity poles that are hurdles on roadways/carriageways in various parts of the city, such dangerous poles are posing threat to commuters.

In a recent tragic incident, 22-year-old Satnam Singh of Suraj Nagar in Ludhiana lost his life when the bike he was riding collided with an electricity pole near Arora Palace on Gill Road. The accident took place at night as the high-tension power line, obstructing the roadway, was almost invisible, kin of the deceased said.

Satnam had received serious injuries, including on the head, due to the strong head-on collision, and was declared dead at a city hospital. His friend, who was a pillion rider, survived the mishap.

Satnam was married and the father of a one-year-old daughter. Now, questions are being raised over the role of the PSPCL and the MC as to why such a dangerous pole was not shifted from the roadway to a safer location.

Gurdip Singh, a relative of the deceased, said: “Safety of commuters is being ignored as the pole that had caused the mishap is located on the roadway. The pole was not visible at night when the accident took place around 10 days ago. We lost a family member due to the negligence of the departments concerned. Such poles must be shifted away from the roadway to avert mishaps.”

Rashpal Singh Gabria, a businessman, said, “The victim’s family should be paid compensation by the department concerned. If the pole had been shifted to a safer location timely, the tragedy could have been averted.”

There are some other poles on Gill Road that are also inviting fatal mishaps but the authorities concerned are still in a deep slumber. Residents of several other areas in the city have also been complaining about such electricity poles for a long time. But, the PSPCL and the MC have been passing the buck on the matter.

Kapil Arora of the Council of Engineers said: “Electricity poles/towers which were installed within carriageway pose a serious threat to commuters, especially pedestrians as well as two-wheeler riders. Such poles are almost invisible during night hours and with sudden collision, may cause life-threatening injuring and damage to vehicles. In Ludhiana, there are a large numbers of locations where the PSPCL, MCL & GLADA have blindly allowed construction of roads on which HT Transmission Towers are located in the middle of roads. The PSPCL and others concerned must ensure shifting of such poles to avoid mishaps, otherwise we will move the court against them.”

PSPCL executive engineer Surjeet Singh said the poles on Gill Road were installed around 30 years ago. The MC could get these poles shifted by depositing the shifting fee to the PSPCL.

A number of city roads were widened in the past by the MC, without getting the poles shifted to safer sites. However, Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu could not be contacted for comments.

No action on residents’ complaints

There are some other poles on Gill Road that are also inviting fatal mishaps but the authorities concerned are still in a deep slumber. Residents of several other areas in the city have also been complaining about such electricity poles for a long time. But the PSPCL and the MC have been passing the buck on the matter.