Live wires in parks still a threat

NEW DELHI: Almost two months after a lawyer and his dog were electrocuted in a park in Pitampura, the civic bodies are yet to take corrective measures to avoid repetition of such incidents. A reality check by TOI reveals the lurking danger of live wires left exposed in many parks across the city. Even civic officials admit there has been a delay in fixing the glitches and ensure safety of residents.
In the aftermath of the January incident, North Corporation had assured that all parks would be thoroughly checked and get the problems rectified within 15 days.
"The problem of live wire lying exposed can be found in many parks in Nizamuddin. The electrical boxes are lying open and wires are jutting out. Anyone can be electrocuted but corporation official plead ignorance. We are waiting for mishap to take place and then only they will take action," said Farhad Suri, Nizamuddin's councilor and leader of opposition, South Corporation.
There are 14,000 municipal parks in the city. Officials attribute the reason behind the appalling conditions of these parks to shortage of gardeners.
"Usually the gardeners report about open electrical boxes in the parks our zonal electrical department takes care of the problem. But nowadays, we don't have gardeners," said a senior South Delhi Municipal Corporation official.
The gardeners are recruited by Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board. "Those applying for the gardeners' posts should be at least class X pass and have five years of experience. How will we get such 'qualified' gardeners?" asked Mira Aggarwal, leader of the House, North Delhi Municipal Corporation.
Following the Pitampura incident, officials from the Rohini zone inspected a few parks and took some measures. "We have done away with the fancy lights and only high-mast lights will be used in the parks. Fancy lights have less illumination. Besides, their maintenance cost is too high. Some of these lights got stolen due to which wires were left exposed," said P K Gupta, commissioner, North Corporation.
Councillors have also requested the officials to place the electrical boxes at some height so that kids and strays do not come in their contact. "A cow got electrocuted in a park recently. The boxes are accessible to kids as they are placed low," said Virender Kasana, CR Park councilor.
South Delhi Municipal Corporation commissioner P K Goel said all parks in south Delhi will be inspected within two weeks. "It is a serious matter and a report will be prepared soon."