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Written By murali772 - 27 July, 2009
Bangalore BESCOM Privatization Media Reports public health Pedestrian Infrastructure Others Everything else public hygiene
Caught between emptying his full bladder and avoiding the gaze of passersby, a 45-yearold construction worker suffered burn injuries after an electric shock on Vittal Mallya Road and is still fighting for life in Victoria Hospital.
Police said there was a safety fencing around the transformer but was recently removed during the road widening work. They said that the man ought to have maintained a safe distance from the transformer. For the full report that appeared in the New Indian Express, click here
The questions that arise are
1) Only if a person comes in contact with the terminals/ wires of a live transformer should he get a shock (merely coming in contact with the body of the transformer should not cause it). And, since transformer installations are required to ensure that these (terminals/ wires) are far beyond a man's reach from the ground level, how come this man received a shock? The obvious answer is that there was a current leakage, meaning that the installation was hazardous, and the safety devices should have acted to isolate it, till such time as the fault was detected and repaired. And, this did not happen!
There is a body called the 'Karnataka Electrical Inspectorate' which is required to inspect all transformer installations, including those of BESCOM, periodically, according to set parameters, to ensure that the safety devices work when faults develop. Whereas, in the case of transformer installations other than those belonging to BESCOM, the Electrical Inspectorate goes about making annual inspections fairly systematically (subject of course to the vagaries of a government agency's functioning), in the case of BESCOM installations, they are obviously not bothering with it. The reason perhaps is their both being government agencies, and therewith providing another good reason (if the many listed here are not enough) why the government should not be playing the role of the service provider and regulator simultaneously. Enough such accidents have happened in Bangalore in the recent past. Should we wait for more before the government is made to wake up to such practical solutions?
2) How does one 'maintain a safe distance from a transformer' (as the police likes to advice) when it is there right in the middle of your foot-path?
3) Why aren't there enough well-maintained public toilets? Many 'Nirmala' toilets, courtesy the Infosys Foundation, were installed all over the city. But, their maintenance has been far from satisfactory. Besides, whereas toilets should remain open till late into the night after opening early in the morning, the BBMP possibly mans it on a single-shift basis, resulting in their remaining locked when they are most required. Can't the BBMP do a simple thing like handing over the maintenance to a local eatery for an attractive concession in property tax, and thereafter only engaging in regular inspections?
Muralidhar Rao
COMMENTS
Public urination - demand less, pay less
Devesh - 27 July, 2009 - 15:52
We are quick to point out faults with the government, and yes, many of them are deserving.
However this statement does not jive. "Why aren't there enough well-maintained public toilets?"
If Murali goes to the contractor and checks the permissions issued, one of the key requirements is for the contractor/builder/site owner to provide for a toilet for the workers.
Why was the construction worker emptying his bladder in a public area ? Who is questioning the contractor or builder for his lack of providing toilets.
Why have we not made an issue of the public nuisance, smell, and disease by this act of public defecation or urination ? To top it off, this construction worker has the audacity to demand the government pay for his medical expenses!!!!
For anything and everything we expect the government to do. Have we become parasites with no means of self sustenance? No wonder our taxes are stratospherically high. We have all these expectations of a nanny state and the government milks our expectations.
Demand less and then demand to pay less.
'Ye naayee, illi mootra beda' words painted in Rajajinagara
Vasanthkumar Mysoremath - 27 July, 2009 - 16:22
Transliteration: Hey dog, do not urinate here.
The above words of wisdom written by me in red paint in Kannada, on the stone wall of KLE International School building in II Block, Rajajinagara, Bengaluru are available for all Prajas to see even today. The pissing spot is located just outside the compound wall of KLE College of Information Technology and a hi-tech library block.
It is disgusting to see a few children from upper floor class rooms watching out of the window the irresponsible act of uncivilised people who want to clear their bladders, even though a free urinal is available just about 50 meters away.
I have vehemently objected, screamed at the pissers and also at the children from my balcony and got some stones thrown at me also.
I had placed a deadly looking various God's photos to scare those who wanted to unzip, but to no avail. Held discussions with the college authorities to post a security but to no avail. They said it is next to impossible to stop people misusing the high wall meant to keep their property safe. Held discussions with the health authorities but unfortunately their head full of cow dung ended in their placing a huge garbage bin adding to the problem.
Still many b.....s unzip and does it while reading it.
Overheard:
Question by a concerned citizen: Hey, can't you read what is written on the wall?
Pisser: Yes, I can read.... it is meant for dogs and not to me.
Latest media report is that a lady in Indiranagar has been throwing stones at such pissers right in front of her house because the stink had become unbearable Source: Bangalore Mirror
- Vasanth Mysoremath
idontspam - 27 July, 2009 - 17:57
Why have we not made an issue of the public nuisance, smell, and disease by this act of public defecation or urination ?
This is an abuse which needs to be tackled. This and littering needs to be punished severely else we will remain a dirty society
To top it off, this construction worker has the audacity to demand the government pay for his medical expenses
This is a totally different issue. The person recieved a shock not because of the act of passing urine but because of being in a place which was supposed to be barricaded because it was not safe. The negligence is on that front. It is the same negligence that allows people to be washed away into drains which are supposed to be barricaded. It is the same negligence which allows people to fall into open manhole, trip over uneven sidewalks or get hurt in construction zones.
If I were eating when I tripped over an uneven sidewalk is it my fault for eating while walking or is it negligence due to bad sidewalk stones? If I were eating and the sidewalk was not uneven I may not have fallen and even if I did I wouldnt have anybody to blame but myself. Where does the attribution lie? In this case the city has the right to fine the man for urinating and causing nuisance according to the law while he has the right to sue for negligence causing him bodily harm.
Let us seperate the negligence from the abuse. Both are equally bad for the city.
rs - 28 July, 2009 - 10:29
Hi
With the risk of sounding insensitive I guess I will say that I have always been of the opinion that people should build fences and hedges, not walls, to demarcate their property. There are several benefits in doing so. The first is that it is a lot more aesthetic - a fence covered with greenery is a lot more pleasant to look at than a bare wall. The second, which is of relevance to this thread, is that people can urinate on it with abandon - in many instances it would almost be good for someone to urinate on it.
Another possible solution is to have a green belt along the footpaths which can be used for such purposes - and mother nature will take care of it.
I have long ago given up the hope that one can expect to teach people not to urinate in public - there is basically not enough infrastructure for that and even if public toilets are built, our culture is such that they will be filthy and unusable within a short time - apparently it is always someone elses job to clean the toilets and I suppose in the dominant culture there is a stigma associated with the cleaning of toilets, so it never gets done. I dont know if any of you have tried to use the Nirmala toilets provided by Infosys. While the person at the counter happily collects the money most of the toilets I have tried to use are absolutely filthy with dirty sinks where either water is constantly running or doesnt run at all. Of course ones instinct is to get out of there and nobody really bothers to complain about the situation - in any case its not clear if there is any forum for having such things addressed.
Ramesh
RameshBlr - 27 July, 2009 - 09:15
if you have noticed the new sigle pole transformers have no protection grill etc whatsoever and are of course as mentioned never subject to any sort of scrutiny until it blows... of late BESCOM has started wha t they call using aerial bunched cables [ case in point is near ganesh temple Koramangala on the main road where the poles have been shifted.and terminating the same on the top insulators of the single pole and the rest of the distrobution being dome by underground cable. As MR says the old zoo cages are still a hazard any one has to contend with..
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