EDITORIAL: It is shocking that negligence on the part of Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) led to a near-fatal accident where an eight-year-old girl from a poor family had to have both her arms amputated to save her life. It turns out that the father of the victim, a resident of Mohalla Kachhi Abadi, Mannu Nagar, Hasan Abdal, District Attock, filed numerous written and verbal complaints with the sub-divisional office of the licensee about loose 11kV lines passing over his house, often causing electrification of the walls and even killing animals on occasion. Yet the only help he got was advice about wrapping plastic bottles on the walls and getting on with business as usual.
Unfortunately, those plastic bottles could not prevent strong winds on 8 August 2023 from swinging 11kV conductors and triggering a short circuit which caused severe burns on both arms of an eight-year-old girl, forcing doctors to cut them off to keep her alive. Her father has rightly held the relevant SDO and other line staff responsible for the tragedy, which would have been avoided if only the licensee had constructed, operated and maintained its distribution system in accordance with Performance Standards, Distribution Code, Power Safety Code, Consumer Service Manual and other applicable documents.
It took Nepra, the power sector regulator, more than a year to impose a Rs200m fine on Iesco, for being responsible for the accident, which will neither restore the girl’s arms nor give her back a normal life, but it might just prompt the company to take its responsibilities a little more seriously. Also, this should not be the end of the matter. News reports haven’t yet spoken of the fate of the SDO and line officers that snubbed repeated pleas by the girl’s father, who reminded them about past incidents of electrification and electrocution, yet there was neither any action nor much concern about residents of the area.
There’s also the fact that this was not the only house in the country vulnerable to such electrification. Iesco and other supply companies are notorious for non-compliance with safety standards. These problems have persisted for years, often resulting in shocking, tragic loss of life and limb, yet nothing concrete has ever been done about it. Even now, there’s every chance of this issue getting brushed under the carpet once again as it fades from the headlines. Nepra’s mandate extends beyond issuing fines. As the regulator, it is ultimately responsible for the entire sector’s adherence to the rulebook. And, at the end of the day, and break in the chain is its responsibility.
Ordinary Pakistanis must not be made to suffer because of negligence and incompetence in government departments. The government must take notice of this and all such incidents, and finally put its foot down. The entire power sector has been plagued by inefficiencies and corruption for the longest time, rotting it to the core. It’s already cost the state a fortune. Now it’s also costing residents their arms, legs and lives.
This is unacceptable.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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