MEDIA reports on Saturday said most accidents in the country’s power installations take place due to negligence of the officials concerned from construction stage to maintenance level. Needless to say such accidents cause loss of life, public sufferings and waste of assets that could be however avoided by ensuring professionalism of on duty officials working for the sector. Automation and proper training for mechanics in power supply management are essential for curling system loss, avoiding accidents and minimize the losses. Basic utility services like power, water, and gas supply are vulnerable to utter neglect of linesmen at different levels.
What is noticeable is that power sector officials and contractors always buy low quality power plants and spare parts, which are always susceptible to breakdown and accidents. These are not unknown to the government leaders and senior power sector officials and we must say the neglect to such failure and indiscipline is part of bigger crime and corruption in power sector that need to be sternly dealt with without waste of time.
Safety must be high on card in power sector and people are suffering the most for want of it. It needs not only proper training, but also proper application of trained manpower and monitoring of their activities to plug loopholes. Insiders said they would upgrade the safety manuals if needed to improve safety and security of the power sector installations. But indifference is at all levels to get it done. Power utilities’ reports show that 40,000 to 50,000 transformers explode every year, most of which can be avoided if the officials concerned honestly perform their duties.
Lack of proper grounding causes damage to most transformers while negligence is responsible for most accidents, causing death to human being and damage to valuable electric equipment. To avoid such damage testing of the electric equipment before installation and regular inspection are imperative. Discussants at a meeting in the city called for increasing the government’s capacity building and regular testing of electric equipment supplied by different private companies before installation.
Besides, live wires hanging loose from a transformer are too common sight in most roads in Dhaka. Electric cables have been set up in an unplanned way throughout the country. Overtime, these wires end up hanging low over the heads of pedestrians. The risk is aggravated during the rainy season. Yet, for years the authorities have remained slow in addressing this problem. No matter how much precaution is observed by people to avoid stepping onto or coming in contact with the cables, it is the responsibility of the authorities to make sure that the danger is not present in the first place.
We urge the authorities concerned to take urgent steps to upgrade the supply network to stop accident and waste. There can’t be any excuse to cause any delay and keep the system vulnerable to high risks.
