GUWAHATI: Assam government on Thursday constituted a one-man inquiry committee headed by a retired Judge of Gauhati High Court to probe into spurt in recent deaths due to due to electrocution after the victims came into contact with loosely wired or snapped high tension electric wire belonging to Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL).
Over 40 persons have died due to electrocution at different places in the state since June this year including at least six in Guwahati city.
After holding a high-level review meeting, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal entrusted retired justice of Gauhati High Court H N Sarma with the responsibility of investigating the incidents of deaths due to electrocution.
“If any APDCL employee or official is found guilty of negligence in duty for which these unfortunate incidents of electrocution deaths have occurred, then those persons would have to face punitive action” Sonowal warned while reviewing the functioning of APDCL.
The CM announced constitution of 158 Sub-divisional Supervision and Advisory Committees for Electrical Sub-divisons of the state. These 11-member committees would comprise of Circle Officer as president and APDCL SDO as member secretary where BDO, OC or CI of local police station, women representative, two senior village heads and three eminent persons nominated by APDCL would also be included as members.
Sonowal also directed immediate release of ex-gratia to the next of kin of deceased in the electrocution incidents at different parts of the state and he directed the APDCL engineers to regularly monitor all areas under them for eliminating snags and lacunas in power transmission network.
He also directed to start emergency service for addressing faults in power supply in other cities of the state like Silchar, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Nagaon, Tezpur, and Tinsukia as it is being done in Guwahati.
Sonowal also instructed to provide uniform to the linemen of APDCL and asked the department to hold meetings with the electrical engineering departments of engineering colleges of the state for taking suggestions for improving the power scenario.
He directed prompt action on part of the APDCL to fill up 3000 vacant posts of linemen and helpers in the power department.
Minister of State for Power Pallab Lochan Das, legal adviser to the Chief Minister Shantanu Bharali, chief secretary V K Pipersenia, Additional Chief Secretary of power department Alok Kumar, secretary to the Chief Minister Vishal Vasant Solanki, along with top officials of APDCL and power department were present in the meeting.