Electrocution death in Kolkata: Expert panel finds gross negligence – Times of India

KOLKATA: After finding gross negligence in the electrocution death in Haridevpur, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Wednesday asked senior officials of several essential services departments to work in coordination to avert such tragic incidents in future.
According to a KMC source, the report of the experts’ committee that was submitted to municipal commissioner Binod Kumar revealed gross negligence in installation of an LED street light atop a defunct post without exercising caution led to the tragedy. Experts found traces of a faulty joint box and loose wires that should have been taken care of. In addition, an internal assessment by KMC officials found that waterlogging in pockets of the neighbourhoods had also become a safety threat to residents.
Based on the findings of the experts’ committee, KMC on Wednesday ordered senior civic officials to find the shortcomings in civic infrastruct-ure and work in tandem to minimize the threat.
A forensic team visited the spot in Haridevpur on Wednesday and spent close to an hour studying whether the dangling wires were damaged. It will submit a separate report to the police.
The KMC brass held a meeting with the heads of various major civic departments on Wednesday and asked them to take immediate steps in the Haridevpur-Behala belt. The member, mayor-in-council, overseeing the KMC sewerage and drainage, Tarak Singh, also visited the electrocution site with senior officials to ascertain the damage to the civic infrastructure in Haridevpur and Behala. Later, Singh conceded that there were lapses on part of the KMC drainage department officials and KEIIP authorities. “The coordination among various civic departments needs to be strengthened to avert such a crisis in future. Here, the drainage department and the KEIIP should have shown better work coordination,” said Singh.
He met civic officials of several essential services departments and chalked out a strategy to give residents relief from inundation during monsoon. According to a KMC official, besides taking care of lamp posts, the civic body will strengthen its drainage network in coordination with the KEIIP officials.
“We need to conduct major desilting of the clogged drains in the Haridevpur-Behala belt before heavy rain occurs. We also need KEIIP officials to join us in bridging a gap of drainage pipelines that will help drain storm water in large areas of Behala and Haridevpur,” said a KMC official. In fact, the KMC drainage department on Wednesday pressed into service machines in the Haridevpur area for desilting clogged drainage lines. “We are keeping vigil on the area as it is not only prone to waterlogging, but has inherent faults on how the pipelines are laid,” said a KMC official.