TURA: A youth was killed after he fell from a two-wheeler onto a high tension live electrical wire lying on the roadside in Dadenggre area on Thursday morning.
The incident, which has once brought to fore the sheer negligence of the power department in maintaining safety, occurred at 4:30 in the morning outside Dabigre village, six kilometres away from the Dadenggre Civil Subdivision of West Garo Hills district.
Mingkam B Sangma was travelling on his motorcycle (ML05 J 0305) when he lost control while negotiating a turn on the road. He fell off his bike and on the high tension live wire. He was instantly electrocuted with the huge bolt of electricity charring his body.
Angry villagers and organisations have blamed MeECL for the death of Sangma 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 Dalanggre and Asingre villages near Dadenggre. This shows the poor quality of work by the department which is endangering lives in our area. The officials behind such callous work need to be hauled up and jailed,” demanded ex-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 work along the roadsides by the MeECL are being taken up without any safety measures 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.
