Buzzing death: Electricity wires pose threat to locals

Family of 15-year-old still mourns his death

PESHAWAR: Even eight months after his death, the family of 15-year-old Salman Khan mourns the tragic demise that resulted after the boy was electrocuted by catching current of 11,000 volts from low hanging wires while flying a kite.

“I lost my elder son [last year] to the dangerous cable of Pesco that is hanging on the roof of my rented house [in Mardan],” said Salman’s bereaved father Taj Wali, who works as driver in the police department. “Though my son cannot come back to this world, I urge the government and quarters concerned to come up with a proper solution to the issue.” After getting over 50% of burn injuries, Salman was admitted to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar for treatment. However, he succumbed to his injuries after 10 days.

Like Salman, hundreds of people, including adults and children, have either died or been paralysed by getting shocks from naked and obsolete electric cables that hang low from various poles across the city.

Low-lying danger

The wires pose threat to the lives of locals particularly those in residential areas, including Gul Bahar, Nothia, Kohat Road, Firdous, Hashtnagri, Saddar, Warsak Road and Shami Road. The danger doubles during rains, particularly for children who are not aware of exercising precautions near electricity cables and wires.

Besides, these cables also posed threats to shops situated in narrow markets of the metropolis – Qissa Khwani Bazaar, Sarafa Bazaar, Gora Bazaar and Shafi market.

In 2014, a short circuit damaged around 76 shops in Sarafa Bazaar, causing a loss of millions to the traders.

While talking to The Express Tribune, Central Traders Union of Peshawar Cantt President Mujeebur Rehman said they have approached higher authorities to get the older electricity cables changed as they continued to pose threat to their shops.

He said obsolete wires particularly those in Shafi market — famous for its clothes shops — have witnessed various cases of fires erupting from short circuits. “The old wires should be replaced with new ones to redress the issue.” However, PESCO Spokesperson Shukat Afzal told The Express Tribune they were regularly changing old wires in various localities of the city.

He said the practice was ongoing for the last many years and whenever the quarters concerned feels the cable should be changed, they do so.

When asked about wires that passed over the roofs of houses, Afzal said locals have always been asked not to construct houses under the electricity cables as it is against the rules. He added they also serve notices in such situations.

Neat placement

Social activists have also expressed deep concerns over the crisscrossed electricity cables in the city. Muhammad Rafiq, a social activist based in Peshawar, told The Express Tribune the city’s electricity system should be made proper as it also affects the beauty of the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2016.