Corpn suspends 2 engineers, asks inspection report

A statement from the civic body said orders have been issued to submit a report after holding an inquiry with the concerned officials immediately. “Assistant division electrical engineer Kannan and junior engineer Venkat Raman have been placed under temporary suspension,” it said.

As she tried to avoid a large puddle on the road near her residence, Alima, the victim, accidentally stepped on a leaking underground cable on Narayanasamy Street in Pulianthope, at the Ward 73 of Thiru Vi Ka Zone. She died on the spot due to electrocution. The CCTV footage of the incident shows her collapsing to the ground immediately after stepping on the wire.

Residents of the area alleged that they had given multiple complaints about the snapped wire to local authorities but that no action was taken on their complaints.

Meanwhile, Corporation commissioner G Prakash directed the electrical engineers in the civic body to inspect all the junction boxes and the poles. He would review the inspection report on Wednesday.

There are 2.85 lakh streetlights and 7220 pillar boxes across the 200 wards of the city Corporation. To maintain them, the Corporation has 700 engineers, assistant engineers, junior engineers and other staff. As per the initial review, it said that there was neither any leakage nor snags anywhere.