Mohali: Nayagaon residents blame power utility for girl’s death
A day after an eight-year-old girl was electrocuted in the Nayagaon area on Saturday morning, the police registered a case of unnatural death and initiated proceedings under Section 194 of the BNSS. Officials of Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL), meanwhile, got illegal connections removed from a transformer in Baba Balak Nath Colony.
Residents criticised the PSPCL and held it responsible for the death of the child, alleging that its negligence had exposed residents to serious risks. It has come to light that the low-hanging wires that caused the incident were part of illegal direct-hookup connections from the transformer.
Nayagaon councillor Makhan Singh said, “PSPCL officials should have been held responsible for the death of the child. Electricity wires are hanging loosely in almost every street here.”
Advocate Ravneet Singh said, “There is no accountability of PSPCL officials here. The administration has given them a free hand. They do not move an inch here without a bribe.”
Eight-year-old Mansi, the eldest of four children of construction labourer Ravinder, died after coming into contact with low-hanging electricity wires around 9 am on Saturday. She died on the spot, while three others accompanying her had a narrow escape.
Irate residents and councillors said the victim’s family was from a very humble background. “The least the PSPCL and the administration could have done was provide compensation, but that too has not been done,” they said.
A visit by Chandigarh Tribune found several such safety hazards in crowded localities of Nayagaon, where small children and residents face serious risks on a daily basis.
On the Church road, a web of electricity wires from a transformer hangs dangerously low, putting commuters and residents at risk.
A glaring example of the PSPCL’s alleged poor handling of its infrastructure is a transformer installed barely two feet above the ground on a narrow street in Adarsh Colony. Children playing in the street are exposed to serious danger.
“During the summer and monsoon seasons, sparking and minor blasts happen here frequently,” said an elderly resident living nearby.
At Janta Colony, one of the most densely populated localities in Nayagaon, an overhead wire mesh hanging across a street is also inviting trouble, particularly during the rainy season.
Nayagaon MC vice-president Taranjit Kaur said, “The administration must ensure the safety of residents here.”
This is the second death of a migrant labourer’s child allegedly due to negligence by authorities in the Kharar area.
Virat, son of a migrant labourer, drowned after falling into a rainwater-filled pit near a park under construction in Badhmajra on July 31.
Kharar SDM Gurmit Singh said, “The body has been handed over to the kin after post-mortem. The family had come here from Bihar in search of a livelihood a few days ago. A vehicle has been arranged for them to take the body for cremation, along with some financial assistance. PSPCL officials have been directed to immediately process their case for compensation. I have also directed officials to conduct a survey of illegal connections and take appropriate action.”
Ground reality belies PSPCL claim
In a PIL recently filed in the HC regarding loose wires over the Khuda Ali Sher–Shivalik Vihar road, the PSPCL had submitted that a survey of Nayagaon had been conducted and all loose-hanging wires on the Shivalik Vihar road had been properly fixed.
