Woman’s electrocution sparks violent protest

Khammam: Flash protests were staged here on Monday in Kasna Thanda, Khammam rural mandal, after a woman died from electric shock. A dharna was held with the woman’s body by her family along with the support of villagers on the Khammam-Mahabubabad road.

The woman, Maruthi Muthamma, 43, came into contact with 11KV electricity distribution cables while drying clothes on a parapet wall at her home, and instantly passed away

Meanwhile, tension prevailed at the Thanda. In addition to demanding Rs 1 crore in compensation for the woman’s family, the demonstrators yelled chants denouncing the electrical department officials’ carelessness. On both sides of the road, the demonstration caused traffic to come to a halt. Moreover, the Pallegudem substation’s electricity office was attacked by some peasants, who also destroyed the office’s windows and doors. After arriving on the scene quickly, the local police managed to stabilise the situation. During their visit, representatives of the electricity department spoke with demonstrators.

The demonstrators bemoaned the fact that Edulapuram Municipality’s citizens now have to live with high-tension power lines that have less ground clearance. Public representatives and electricity officials received several complaints, but the issue remained unresolved.

The said that Congress party leaders had pledged to address the issue as soon as they took office during the most recent elections, but they haven’t taken any action in the past two years. Residents complained in vain, despite Palair MLA and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy had been made aware of the problem.

“A year ago, a youngster in the municipality’s Sai Ganesh Nagar had also died as a result of high-tension wires,” they said.

The demonstration was attended by CPI leaders Rammurthy Naik, P Sudhakar, N Prasad, CPI(M), Papa Naik, and others.