TURA: Once again exposing the sheer negligence of the power department in maintaining safety, a young boy was killed after he fell from a two wheeler onto a high tension live electrical wire that had been lying on the roadside in Dadenggre area early Thursday morning.
The tragedy occurred at approximately 4:30 in the morning outside a village called Dabigre, 6 kms away from the Dadenggre civil subdivision region of in West Garo Hills district.
The young boy identified as Mingkam B Sangma was travelling on his motorcycle (ML05 J 0305) when he lost control while negotiating a turn on the road. He fell out of the bike and onto the side of the road where a high tension live wire lay snapped.
He was instantly electrocuted and the huge bolt of electricity charred his body.
Angry villagers and organizations have blamed the MeECL for the death of the young boy which could have been prevented if the corporation had kept a check on the power lines.
“This is not the first time this happened. Earlier a child and a elderly woman were electrocuted after live wires fell on them in the villages of Dalanggre and Asingre, near Dadenggre. This shows the extremely poor quality of work by the department concerned which is endangering lives in our area. The officials behind such callous works need to be hauled up and jailed,” demanded former GSU President from Dadenggre Rupa Marak in a statement seeking accountability from the power board.
He has demanded that the MeECL pay adequate compensation to the family of the victim.
There have been complaints from villagers also that ongoing power line works along the roadsides by the MeECL are being taken up without any safety being put in place for people passing through. The student leader has demanded that the MeECL should move the power lines away from the roadsides and ensure safety checks are in place.