Man electrocuted while repairing feeder line in Faridabad, inquiry on

An inquiry is on to find out whether the power supply was switched on accidentally or due to negligence while the DHBVN assistant lineman was working on it

An assistant lineman of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVN) in Faridabad was electrocuted when he was working on an 11kV feeder line and the electricity supply was switched on, discom officials said on Saturday. An inquiry is being conducted to find out whether the power supply was switched on accidentally or due to negligence, officials said.

The incident took place on Mohna Road at 4pm on Thursday. (Representational image/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The incident took place on Mohna Road at 4pm on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Manoj Kumar, 34, who was an outsourced employee of DHBVN. He was rushed to a hospital in Sector 8 but doctors declared him dead on arrival.

“An 11kV underground feeder line was damaged near Uncha Gaon, Mohna Road almost a week ago. The affected areas were getting their power supply from the overhead wire while repairs were being carried out on the feeder line. Kumar and three other supporting employees decided to shut down the power supply in the line to carry out repairs on Thursday,” said Sanjay Kumar Mangla, DHBVN executive engineer, Ballabgarh.

After working on the line for a few hours, Kumar and his team decided to take a lunch break and a short rest at 1pm. So they informed the substation authorities to restore the power supply for a few hours while they took their break.

“After their break, the team resumed work. But when Kumar climbed up the line, he was electrocuted after coming in contact with the high-tension wires,” Mangla added.

“Inquiry is on to ascertain if the team forgot to alert the authorities to shut down the supply again or the power supply was turned on accidentally. However, it appears that it was probably negligence from the ground team which was carrying out the repairs and they had probably forgotten to inform authorities to turn off the power supply,” he said.

Discom officials said that action will be taken only after a detailed inquiry. Officials said that ₹25,000 was provided to Kumar’s family for his cremation and ₹10 lakh as family assistance.