At Chitlapakkam, people power ensures Tangedco does its job

At Chitlapakkam, people power ensures Tangedco does its job

Srikkanth.D@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 07.10.2020

As Tangedco begins replacing electric poles in Chitlapakkam town panchayat after people there sent a complaint with photographs of 31 damaged ones, early residents recall the postcard campaign they undertook to ensure the first transformer was installed in the neighbourhood to ensure power supply.

Thirty years later, the residents once again rose up in September last year after a 42-year-old man, Sethu, was killed while walking his dog after dinner when a live wire fell on him after an electric pole collapsed.

Sethu’s death caused public outrage more so because of the comments by state power minister P Thangamani that the post fell not because of the authorities’ negligence, but because a truck had dashed against it.

The residents then sent a detailed complaint with the list of all electric poles damaged in the neighbourhood and work, which was stalled due to the lockdown, has begun.

“Around 1990, after CMDA approved layout in Chitlapakkam, we had an issue with low voltage. Then all residents, numbering around 100, undertook a postcard campaign, which eventually yielded the desired result,” reminisced P Viswanathan, convener, Chitlapakkam Residents Associations Co-ordination Committee. The first transformer in Chitlapakkam came up at the junction of Thirumurugan Salai and Raghavendra Salai and the sequences surrounding the event itself was dramatic.

“It was a manual process and took more time for erecting the pole. This transformer was commissioned at around 7.45 p.m. and the next day was Diwali. So, our low voltage problem was solved ahead of the festival of lights,” Viswanathan said.

“We had asked Tangedco to appoint an inspection team to visit and inspect all poles, wires, transformers and other equipment related to the safety and quality supply of electricity and replace the damaged electric poles. We also requested them to provide underground electricity cables in a phased and time-bound manner too,” Viswanathan said.

An engineer with Tangedco said that work was delayed due to the lockdown restrictions and that they will complete works regarding the damaged electric poles and low hanging wires within the year.

Tangedco staff re-erect damaged electric poles at the junction of Thirumurugan Salai and Raghavendra Salai

Early residents of the area recall the postcard campaign they undertook before the first transformer was put up in the neighbourhood