Bescom's safety mission: Many more miles to go

According to Bescom, falling trees that cut the live wires are a major reason for electrocution accidents

As heavy rains continue to put everyday life out of gear in Bengaluru, safety concerns surrounding electric wires hanging, and sometimes cut owing to tree falls, have increased.

Recent cases of electrocution deaths of a 25-year-old ragpicker in Ulsoor and a 22-year-old daily wage worker in Sanjaynagar, after coming in contact with live electric wires, have sprung serious questions on Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company (Bescom)’s promises to provide a safe and reliable power supply.

Read | ‘Delayed underground cabling leaves roads in a mess’

According to Bescom, falling trees that cut the live wires are a major reason for such accidents. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) data showed that close to 400 trees were uprooted between March and June this year. This is despite the claims by both the Bescom and BBMP that they prune trees diligently during the pre-monsoon season.

“We identify and cut branches which touch the electric wires. However, we do not have permission to remove weak trees which could get uprooted during rains. The BBMP has to make sure such trees are removed,” a senior Bescom official said.

Following an increase in such complaints and accidents, in 2019, Bescom decided to convert all the live power lines into Underground (UG) cables and Aerial Bundled (AB) cables. The UG cabling project aims to convert the 11kV High Tension (HT) wires to UG cables and the other Low Tension (LT) cables to AB cables.

“Since the HT wires will go underground, they do not pose a threat. The LT wires, which carry power to houses and in many cases are dangerously close to buildings will be converted to AB cables. AB cables will have multiple layers of insulations bundled together, to prevent electrical accidents or electrocutions. Also, power outages or interruptions owing to rains and fallen trees will be avoided,” explained a senior Bescom official.

However, though the entire network of cables in the city, spanning over 16,000 km, was to be converted to UG cables and AB cables by August 2022, only the first two phases of the project covering a few areas are nearing completion, the officials said.

Coordination a key

Asked about the inordinate delay in the project, Bescom officials said coordinating with various civic agencies was time-consuming.

“Following extreme criticism on the pothole-ridden bad roads, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) delayed providing road cutting permissions. While that was a time-consuming process, we also had to coordinate with Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to ensure their utilities are not damaged,” one of the Bescom engineers working on the project said.

That apart, incessant rains have also put a brake on the process since it is risky to take up work during the monsoon season, the officials said.

“The UG cabling works results in power interruptions. We did not want to cause inconvenience to the students during the exam season and hence we decided not to take up work between March-May owing to the examinations,” yet another Bescom official said.

Officials from the BBMP forest department said that they do remove dry trees and branches periodically.

“Our teams go on regular inspections and remove dry trees and branches. We also remove trees that are visibly weak, obstruct the pathway, or are inclined dangerously towards the road. However, we cannot assess green trees accurately. These days, many young green trees are getting uprooted and it is nearly impossible to predict that,” said Govindaraju V, Deputy Conservator of Forest (BBMP).

Electrocution deaths on a rise

According to Bescom data, the number of fatal electrical accidents had come down significantly during 2019-20 and 2020-21. However, the numbers have again risen, and 46 such incidents have been reported just in the last three months, across Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts, Ramanagara, Tumakuru, Kolar, Chitradurga, Chikkaballapur, and Davangere districts, which fall under Bengaluru Metropolitan Area Zone, on which Bescom has jurisdiction.

“Not all the accidents are due to live wires. In many cases, illegal power lines drawn from our poles also result in such accidents. Our vigilance team is keeping a close watch on such violators,” yet another official said.

Dangling illegal cables are a problem in Bengaluru city limits. “Zonal officials try to remove these illegal hanging cables. However, they reappear. Also, a few associations of cable operators and others have appealed to the high court, which prevents us from removing cables,” a senior BBMP official said.