E-Paper
A week after transformer tragedy in Lucknow, probe report pending
Until the probe report is filed, no compensation can be decided and no accountability fixed, according to officials
The family of Arpit Pal, the eight-year old boy who lost his hands after coming in contact with an open transformer at Sainik Vihar Colony in Lucknow’s Bijnore area, is waiting for the inquiry report on the incident, which took place on January 11. Doctors had to amputate the boy’s hands on January 14 to save his life.
The inquiry report, which was to be submitted by the superintendent engineer (technical) of the Lucknow Electricity Supply Administration (LESA), remains pending. Until that report is filed, no compensation can be decided and no accountability fixed, officials said.
“I have yet to receive the inquiry report by the superintendent engineer (technical),” said LESA (Amausi zone) chief engineer Mehfooz Alam.
“Compensation for the boy will be decided in accordance with the findings of the report and punishment to the guilty staff will be determined,” he added.
While the family is still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy, help has only come from Sarojini Nagar MLA Rajeshwar Singh and former IAS officer Anita Bhatnagar Jain.
For Arpit’s parents, the official processes feel painfully distant from their daily reality.
Since the incident, the family has been running from office to office, seeking financial assistance to cover medical expenses and plan for their son’s future.
“We don’t know how he will live now,” said his father Rakesh Pal, fighting back tears.
“He was just playing and now we all are crying.”
Insiders within LESA, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the situation as “worrying”, pointing to what they called slackness and an insensitive approach by concerned officials towards the safety of residents.
