Rajasthan electricity workers and general public suffer electrical accidents because of use of untrained regular and contract workers

 

Letter of Rajasthan Electricity Workers Federation to power companies

 

(Translation of letter in Hindi)

Rajasthan Electricity Workers Federation (AITUC)

13/03/2023

To,

All Superintending Engineers
Rajasthan State Electricity Distribution Corporation Limited
Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited
Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited
Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited

Subject:- Regarding prevention of electrical accidents happening with electricity workers and general public

Sir,

We are very hurt and worried about the incidents of painful deaths and injuries of electricity workers due to electrical accidents happening in the electricity corporations on a daily basis. In the study of electrical accidents that happened in the past years, we have found that the reason for all these electrical accidents is due to negligence at various levels. If preventive measures were taken in time, all these electrical accidents could have been prevented.

It is a common truth that no officer or employee wants electrical accidents to happen, but in reality it is also a unfortunate fact that the corporation officials have considered electrical accidents as a normal phenomenon and no concrete action has been taken to prevent them. Presently installed electrical system is very dangerous. Safety norms have not been fully followed in the construction of the system. As a result, many fatal/non-fatal accidents are happening with the employees as well as with the common people and livestock. At present, the flouting of safety standards in power corporations can be understood from the following factual examples.

  1. Only trained licensed personnel are authorized to work on power lines, but unauthorized untrained regular and contract employees are working at various substations / other workplaces of electricity corporations. Safety norms are not being followed, shutdown process is arbitrary and faulty. There is no system of earthing.
  2. Due to non-availability of sufficient/specified number of personnel at the said substations, the working personnel do not remain healthy and they remain burdened with unnecessary work.
  3. The working employees have not been given training as per the prescribed syllabus.
  4. Neither has safety equipment been provided at the workplace nor is there any system to monitor the use of equipment.
  5. Safety instructions issued by Central Electricity Authority (Safety and Power Supply Measures) Regulation 2010, Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission and Electricity Corporations are not being followed.

If these five examples are understood and resolved, then electrical accidents can be prevented to a great extent. Security is everyone’s collective responsibility and it cannot be considered as a mere formality. At present, the subject of safety has been taken very seriously at the world level and the International Labour Organization has also declared occupational safety and health at the workplace as a fundamental right. Therefore, it is everyone’s responsibility to work on the zero-accident mission considering safety as the top priority.

It is expected that you will cooperate and put a complete stop to electrical accidents by ensuring complete compliance of the safety instructions issued by the Central Electricity Authority (Safety and Power Supply Measures) Regulation 2010, Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission and Electricity Corporations.

Sincerely,
Keshav Kumar Vyas
General Secretary

Copy is submitted to the following for information and necessary action.

  1. Honourable Chief Minister, Government of Rajasthan
  2. Principal Secretary (Ministry of Power), Government of India
  3. Chairman, Central Electricity Authority, Delhi
  4. Chairman, Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission
  5. Principal Secretary (Energy Department), Government of Rajasthan
  6. Chairman, Discoms
  7. Chairman and Managing Director, R.R.V.P.N.L.
  8. Managing Director, Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited
  9. Managing Director, Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited
  10. Managing Director, Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited
  11. Chief Engineer

 

 

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