Uttarakhand Electrocution Tragedy: Case Against Firm Official, Government Orders Safety Audit

Chamoli (Uttarakhand):

A case has been registered against the company responsible for maintaining the sewage treatment plant in Chamoli, where 16 people died due to electrocution on Wednesday, said an official.

The action came following the instruction of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to take immediate action against all the people responsible for the mishap.

While following the orders of CM Dhami, Additional Assistant Engineer, Hardev Lal and Junior Engineer-in-Charge, Kundan Singh Rawat, Uttarakhand Power Corporation have also been suspended with immediate effect.

“Yesterday’s incident at a sewage treatment plant in Chamoli district was very unfortunate. At least 16 people died and many were injured. Today, a case has been registered against the company which was operating the plant following the instruction of CM Dhami,” said, Himanshu Khurana, DM, Chamoli.

Meanwhile, Uttrakhand Chief Secretary Dr. S.S. Sandhu also instructed the concerned heads to get the standards of power supply system tested in all projects, institutions, and government offices without any delay.

“Chief Secretary SS Sandhu has instructed all additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and Secretaries to get the standards of power supply system tested in all projects, institutions and government offices without delay,” read a circular.

“He instructed that it should be ensured that the testing of safety standards is done according to the standards of the department or every three months,” the circular added.

CM Dhami has given instructions to provide Rs 5 lakh each to the dependents of the dead and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured without any delay.

As per the officials, 16 people died on Wednesday after they came in contact with the railing of an electrified bridge above the Alaknanda River in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district.