A 48-year-old man died of suspected electrocution while walking to work in Safeda Colony, Nayagaon, on Friday morning, exposing again the risk posed by exposed wires and waterlogging in the area despite the Punjab and Haryana high court not long ago warning authorities to prevent such deaths.
The victim, identified as Mewalal, was on his way to duty around 5.30 am when he allegedly came in contact with a live wire. The stretch was waterlogged, with several wires and cables lying close to or touching the ground. His body was sent to Kharar civil hospital for postmortem. He is survived by three sons. Nayagaon SHO Shivdeep Brar said the exact cause of death would be established after the autopsy.
Mewalal’s relative Geeta said residents had been living with the danger for months because wires remained scattered along roads and water accumulated during rain. She said people had to move through the same stretches where cables and wires lay on or near the ground, making it difficult to know which wire was live.
The incident also came a day after around 100 wires and cables were cut in the area, residents said. Photographs from the locality showed bundles of cables lying across muddy roads and near residential buildings, while poles carried dense networks of overhead wires.
{{/usCountry}}The incident also came a day after around 100 wires and cables were cut in the area, residents said. Photographs from the locality showed bundles of cables lying across muddy roads and near residential buildings, while poles carried dense networks of overhead wires.
{{/usCountry}}A junior engineer, Sandeep Kumar, told HT that an initial inquiry by the power department found that the wire involved in the incident did not belong to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited. He said the department found that a resident had allegedly taken a wire from a meter across the road to supply another house.
According to the engineer, insulation on the wire had peeled off at a point where it crossed a cable pipe, leaving the wire exposed. Rainwater flowing through the area then came in contact with the exposed portion, causing current leakage that allegedly reached Mewalal. She said PSPCL had submitted a report to the Nayagaon police station, including the name of the person whose meter was connected to the wire.
Residents said repeated complaints about loose and exposed wires had failed to bring a permanent solution, raising questions over enforcement and routine safety inspections.
The issue is also linked to Nayagaon’s unplanned urban growth. Located along the northern edge of Chandigarh, the municipal council has narrow roads, multi-storey buildings and limited civic infrastructure, leaving utility wires running through congested residential stretches. A visit to Safeda Colony revealed cables hanging from poles and lying across roads and muddy, waterlogged patches.
No lesson learnt: 4th death in nearly 3 months
The latest death comes a month after an eight-year-old girl died of electrocution in Vikasnagar, Nayagaon, on August 8, after allegedly coming in contact with a low-hanging electricity cable while she stepped out to buy something.
The girl, whose parents were migrant workers, was reportedly electrocuted near a waterlogged stretch where wires were lying close to the ground. A contractor working with her parents allegedly witnessed the incident and informed the family.
She was rushed to Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, Chandigarh, where doctors declared her brought dead. The incident had also figured in a petition before the Punjab and Haryana high court seeking immediate action against hazardous electrical installations in Nayagaon.
A 28-year-old Panjab University research scholar, Jyoti, was also electrocuted on July 28 while walking on a waterlogged stretch between her department and hostel on the varsity campus.
In Mohali, a labour was electrocuted in Aerocity park while he was heading to work on June 19.