Royapuram residents lament living under the shadow of damaged poles

“The damaged poles pose a serious threat to the residents. We are afraid to send our children out, fearing that they might fall any time. They seem to be damaged beyond repair,” said Ravichandran M, a resident of SM Chetty Street.

According to the local public, the poles in their neighbourhood are in a very weak condition, and demanded that the officials took up work on underground cabling soon. “Though we welcome the project to lay underground cables, we know that it will take some time to be completed. It is only prudent that authorities repair the existing poles or replace it before monsoon,” said Malani K, a resident of Andiyappan street.

Alleging out that several poles have already fallen causing injuries, Vinoth PL, a resident of PV Koil Street recounted an incident where a piece of concrete fell on a man’s leg while standing next to a falling pole. “As many of the electric poles are weak, we had petitioned the officials two months ago, urging them to replace the poles. But there has not been any response so far,” he said.

Speaking to DT Next, Ganesh, Assistant Executive Engineer (Electrical), Zone 5, Chennai Corporation said they have been instructed to remove and replaces electric poles that are more than 13 years old. “Over 1,100 old electric poles will be replaced by December this year,” he assured.