Ludhiana: Loose, hanging wires, broken junction boxes pose threat

Manav Mander

Ludhiana, July 7

Loose, exposed and hanging wires from street lights, electricity poles and transformers pose serious threat to commuters on roads. The problem is not restricted to one place but loose wires can be seen throughout the city at various places.

Be it in parks, streets or on roads, one can see loose exposed wires coming out of broken power junction boxes, which seem to be waiting for the tragedy to happen. With the rainy season on, the situation becomes more grave and the authorities need to pay attention to the menace at the earliest.

Though crores are spent by the Municipal Corporation on maintenance of street lights, the broken junction boxes and exposed wires seem to be telling another story.

Open wire joints of street lights, transformers and electricity poles can be found near the Jalandhar bypass, Ferozepur Road, Chawni Mohalla and Pakhowal Road, among other city areas and broken power junction boxes can be seen in parks in most of the wards of the city.

One of the transformers in Chawni Mohalla presents a sheer picture of neglect. The distribution board box remains open and is full of hanging and exposed wires and below the box, the place is full of garbage, filth and dirty water.

Switches were also found missing in several boxes at these places and joints were not covered by tape at majority of the places.

“One day when I was walking on the pedestrian pass, I came in contact with an exposed wire. I got a real big jolt but was saved. It can be life threatening also as the rainy season is on and the department concerned should repair all hanging and exposed wires,” said Inderjit, a resident of Ward 1.

The lackadaisical attitude of the authorities is putting commuters’ life at risk. It is a serious issue in most of the areas of the city as the civic body and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited have failed to pay attention towards the loose and naked wires,” said Santok Singh, a resident of Janakpuri.

“Loose and exposed wires are a major problem in parks as children visit these places to play. Open junction boxes and exposed wires can lead to major tragedies,” said Monika, a resident of Rishi Nagar.

Waiting for tragedy to happen?

Be it in parks, streets or on roads, one can see loose exposed wires coming out of broken power junction boxes, which seem to be waiting for the tragedy to happen.