CHENNAI: As soon as an electricity corporation line man stepped on a platform in Tondiarpet to access a distribution pillar post below a transformer structure, he found his leg stuck in a greasy solid matter. To his shock, it was faeces! It is not an isolated incident.The field workers of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) encounter such painful experiences day in and day out when they visit the transformer sites to carry out repairs and routine maintenance work The transformer and other electricity distribution network structures, including the eight and four pole points, are misused as a “convenient” location for open air defecation, urination and for dumping garbage. As if this was not enough, posters and hand bills are stuck on the pillar boxes making it difficult for the technical personnel to open them. Such practical hurdles often deter the field personnel from visiting the transformer sites to correct faults.Also, little did the people (abusing the transformer sites) realise that they were not only putting themselves at risk, but also the entire neighbourhood. Between 2007 and 2010, 14 mishaps have happened in Chennai and suburban areas precisely due to the abuse of sites that house electricity distribution infrastructures.The accidents were reported from Manali, Korattur, Anna Nagar and Tambaram.Sources said that 41 per cent of such mishaps happened due to accidental fire. Throwing inflammable materials such as a cigar carelessly on the garbage pile close to the transformer sites had led to fires in many cases. Accidents such as these not only damage the electricity structures but endanger human lives, besides causing huge damage to electricity appliances like refrigerators and grinders in homes.Recounting an incident, an official, with a large experience in power distribution networking, said an accidental damage to a 240 sq MM under ground cable underneath a transformer led to the bursting of television sets in households powered by the transformer.“Luckily, there were no casualties. But the damage to electrical appliances was huge,” he said. The cause was short circuit in the ‘phase to phase, phase to neutral line’ in the cable near the transformer. It was caused when locals burnt garbage unaware of the underlying cable.
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