23-year-old woman, a pillar of support for family, electrocuted in water-logged Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Sep 6: A 23-year old woman, who allegedly died due to electrocution after she came into contact with an electric pole while navigating a flooded road here was a "pillar of support" for the family, both financially and morally.
With aged parents and a handicapped brother at home, Akhila started working after completing her graduation to support the family's needs.
Akhila worked in the administration department of a private school.
"We (parents) had called her last night and she had told me that she will come home, once the rain stops...no child should face what my child faced. Our life was dependent on her earnings, my wife can't work, son is handicapped, I work as a gardener part-time after taking care of the cows that we have," Akhila's father Somashekar said.
According to police, the incident is said to have taken place at Siddapura near Whitefield here on Monday night, when the victim was returning home on her scooter.
They said, as per account of people at the spot, on reaching the stretch of a road that was waterlogged, the woman's vehicle broke down and she lost balance. As she was trying to regain balance to move ahead, she is said to have touched an electric pole nearby, that had open wires for support, and got electrocuted.
However, the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) has said that the "fatal non-departmental accident" occurred after the victim accidently came in contact with advertisement hoarding erected on the road divider.
The mother and sister of Akhila claimed that no one nearby came to help her fearing that they too might get electrocuted, while the father said, one of her colleagues who was passing on the same stretch noticed and attended to her and rushed to hospital, where she succumbed.
"I had asked her to come home soon, and she said, she will. When called later the phone was switched off, she was everything for our house, she was like my son, she was taking care of her handicapped brother, but she has left us," said her inconsolable mother Padma.
Recalling that she was a good student and had completed her graduation, the mother said, "she even took care of cows at home. She could have studied further but could not due to the situation at home and was delaying her marriage for the same reason."
Her married sister Asha said, someone should have noticed open wires and taken action; had it been done my sister would have been alive.
"No one should face her fate or the pain my sister suffered...don't know whom to blame," she said, while remembering her sister as a safe driver.
Noting that if there was no waterlogging and the open wires were taped by the authorities, Akhila would have been alive today, Akhila's father said, adding he has filed a complaint against both Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
According to BESCOM's statement, as per its officials, who visited the spot, the victim fell on advertisement hoardings erected on the divider and got electrocuted, after her scooter skid due to waterlogging.
"Soon after receiving a call from the public, power supply was disconnected by tripping the feeder at the sub- station and BESCOM officials rushed to the spot. There was no BESCOM wire found around the hoarding, locals told that she was shifted to nearby hospital," it said.
BESCOM officials stated that one private advertisement hoarding was at the spot, it further said, adding that "officials of electrical inspectorate has visited the spot and initiated the inquiry. Whitefield police have registered the case. Body was shifted to private hospital."
Police earlier on Tuesday said they are investigating the incident.
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ISRO's analogue space mission kicks off at Leh
Bengaluru, Nov 1: ISRO on Friday said its analogue space mission has taken off at Leh in Ladakh, where it will simulate life in an interplanetary habitat as India prepares to send a human to the moon.
The initiative is a collaborative effort of the Human Spaceflight Centre, ISRO, AAKA Space Studio, University of Ladakh, IIT Bombay, and supported by Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.
The month-long mission, kicked off mid-October, comes in the wake of India's plans to set up lunar habitats, which could provide a base to launch inter-planetary missions.
The geographical features of Ladakh are considered to closely resemble Martian and lunar landscapes and are an ideal training ground for scientific missions aimed at exploring planets "India's first analog space mission kicks off in Leh...this mission will simulate life in an interplanetary habitat to tackle the challenges of a base station beyond Earth," ISRO said in a post on X.
The team of AAKA Space Studio is testing environment suits and conducting geological studies in Leh's low-oxygen environment, simulating space-like conditions, studies that could be crucial for future space missions.
The team is also studying how the human body adapts to the harsh weather conditions in Ladakh that could be useful in understanding how astronauts could get used to space like conditions.
🚀 India’s first analog space mission kicks off in Leh! 🇮🇳✨ A collaborative effort by Human Spaceflight Centre, ISRO, AAKA Space Studio, University of Ladakh, IIT Bombay, and supported by Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, this mission will simulate life in an… pic.twitter.com/LoDTHzWNq8
— ISRO (@isro) November 1, 2024
