Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) on behalf of the citizens of Bengaluru city had submitted a petition to the Karnatala Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on November 9th 2015 against BESCOM’s unsafe electrical installations across the city.
Prior to this, B.PAC conducted an on-field survey covering 21 locations, identifying more than 200 dangerous electrical installations, awaiting major tragedies to happen. The pictures submitted were self-explanatory that none of these installations fulfilled the safety norms recommended by the Central Electricity Authority.
Pics: B.PAC
B.PAC requested the commission to direct BESCOM to replace all dangerous installations in public access areas on priority.
The Commission admitted B.PAC’s petition and directed the Managing Director of BESCOM to take immediate action to rectify the hazardous installations prevailing in the distribution network across the city.
Speaking on this development TV Mohandas Pai, Vice President, B.PAC said, “We welcome the letter from the Commission to BESCOM. The Commission is working to protect the consumer interest in an unbiased manner. The onus to act positively rests with BESCOM. It’s high time that BESCOM complies with safety standards while having public installations”.
Revathy Ashok, CEO, B.PAC said, “B.PAC urges the citizens of the city to report unsafe electrical installations through our app, Spotter. B.PAC would like to monitor these locations with the support of citizens till the issue is resolved to satisfaction”.
Spotter is an Andriod app that allows users to quickly and efficiently report issues and concerns in their neighbourhood, by uploading a pictures. Through the app, people can file their observations, grievances and suggestions.
Dear friend,
Thanks for the informative writing.
This is to seek your advice on an issue affecting our apartment residents and also the neighbourhood. Right opposite our building there is a BESCOM pole offering both street light for the lane and also providing power supply to the buildings in the vicinity. The pole is considerably old, with cables loosely dangling at the top and in general its condition leaves much to be desired.
One of our residents did contact the BESCOM office to make a complaint and in due course the staff visited the area and had the pole checked. We were told that the pole needed repairs and we had to buy the equipment ourselves and then they would do the servicing. According to their estimate it cost Rs 7000/-.
All along we believed, the pole providing powers supply is a BESCOM installation and its regular maintenance and repair from time to time is a part of BESCOM’s function. Now we are at a loss to understand whether we have to make our own arrangement with the BESCOM linemen or invite local electrical contractors to carry out the necessary repairs. We shall be obliged if you can offer guidance on the right procedure to be followed.
Sincerely,
Nagesh Havanur,
Bangalore 560061