Boy's electrocution fails to jolt BSES

NEW DELHI: For the Sharmas, life will never be the same again. Ever since their eldest son, 15-year-old Anshul, died in a ''transformer accident'' allegedly due to the negligence of BSES, a pall of gloom and shock has descended upon the entire family. Their grief has been compounded because neither the police nor BSES appear to be in a hurry to act on their complaint.
The incident occurred on January 21 at the IFCI Colony in Paschim Vihar.Anshul''s mother, Snehlata, recalled: "At about 7.30 pm, I heard a big bang outside my house. Suddenly the lights went out in the entire colony and before I could react, I heard the kids shouting and running towards the sub-station nearby. Then I saw my husband taking his car out from the garage. It was then that I learnt that my son had met with an accident."
Later in the night, Snehlata was told by the nursing home where Anshul was taken after the accident that her son had died. IFCI Colony Residents'' Welfare Association general secretary Mohinder Prakash said BSES runs an 11 KV sub-station in the area. "It caters to the power requirements of not only the colony, but also some shops in the Jwala Heri market in the neighbourhood. The sub-station has not been maintained properly and anyone can gain access to it. In fact, on the day of the incident, the shutter of the sub-station was half-open. Anshul was probably trapped inside it and was burnt to death," added Prakash. An FIR was lodged with the police immediately thereafter.
According to his parents, Anshul was a bright child. "Besides studies, he was very good in taekwondo. He had won a gold medal recently in a championship held at Ashok Vihar," said Snehlata. His neighbours remember him as a lively kid who was often seen cycling in the colony lanes.
Colony residents feel the mishap could have been averted if BSES had not violated a number of norms laid down for the safety of sub-stations. Even today, the sub-station continues to pose immense risk to the residents of the colony. "In spite of many complaints to the concerned authorities, no action has been taken to put things on the right track," said a resident.
A BSES official said: "It is a very unfortunate incident. On that fateful evening, some residents made a complaint to us about a power breakdown there. We immediately sent our maintenance staffers. However, they were allowed to enter the colony premises only in the presence of the local police and the RWA members. It seems the boy got electrocuted and died of burn injuries. How he went inside is yet to be ascertained. Also, we are waiting for the police investigation report now."