Blackout at Hesaraghatta as truck crashes 35 electric poles; drunken driver held
Bengaluru: A major electrical disaster was averted on the Hesaraghatta main road early Saturday morning when the locals stopped a tipper truck, driven by a drunken driver, which pulled down 35 transmission poles. The driver has been taken into custody.
No casualties were reported in the incident that happened post-midnight, Times of India reported. The tipper pulled down 35 transmission poles of 11kv low tension (LT) power installed within a stretch of one kilometer, disrupting electricity supply to areas like Soladevanahalli, Chikkabanavara, Dwaraka Nagar and Bagalagunte.
Chikkabanavara traffic police stated that the truck was transporting sand to a construction site near Hesaraghatta around 1.30 am in the morning. The driver, identified as Subramani, was under the influence of alcohol and made an error in identifying the gear lever and the hydraulic switch. As a result, he used both, the lever and the switch, resulting in the dumper on the tipper being lifted and getting entangled with the transmission lines beside the road. Unaware of the impending disaster, he continued to drive the truck down the road for more than a kilometer, pulling down the conductors and transmission poles along.
The power lines tripped because of his rash driving and residents of the area, who heard a loud noise, rushed out of their houses in panic. They saw the truck plucking out the electric poles and hurriedly stopped the driver. They also informed the BESCOM officials and the police about the incident. The driver was taken into custody and a breath analyzer test revealed that he had consumed alcohol beyond the permissible limit.
A BESCOM official said that their engineers realized the intensity of the damage done after reaching the spot. However, an alarm had gone off at the control room earlier when the feeder got tripped immediately after the transmission lines snapped, indicating a disastrous situation. The severity of damage to the electrical infrastructure resulted in loss of power supply to nearly 10,000 houses.
HJ Ramesh, Director (Technical) of BESCOM, concurred that there was heavy damage to the conductors and insulation at various points and the company would have to replace them. BESCOM succeeded in completing a major part of the replacement work and ensured that power supply was re-established to the houses in the affected areas by 6 pm on Saturday. BESCOM engineers were involved in estimating the value of the overall loss and the details would be shared with the police department later. The losses would be recovered from the tipper owner, sources in BESCOM stated.
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Arrogant govt: Rahul slams govt over video of restaurant chain owner 'apologising' to FM
New Delhi (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed the government over a video in which a restaurant chain owner is purportedly "apologising" to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for voicing concerns about GST, and said that when "fragile egos" of those in power are hurt, it seems humiliation is what they will deliver.
Two videos were being shared by several Congress leaders and in one of them at an event on September 11, Annapoorna chain of restaurants owner Srinivasan is seen purportedly highlighting concerns over varying GST rates. In the second video, Srinivasan was seen purportedly apologising in person to the Finance Minister.
Gandhi said if this "arrogant government" would listen to the people they would understand that a simplified GST would solve the problems of lakhs of businesses.
In a post on X, Gandhi said when the owner of a small business, like Annapoorna restaurant in Coimbatore, asks public servants for a simplified GST regime, his request is met with "arrogance and outright disrespect".
"Yet, when a billionaire friend seeks to bend the rules, change the laws, or acquire national assets, Modi Ji rolls out the red carpet," he alleged.
"Our small business owners have already endured the blows of demonetisation, an inaccessible banking system, tax extortion and a disastrous GST. The last thing they deserve is further humiliation," Gandhi said.
But when the fragile egos of those in power are hurt, it seems humiliation is exactly what they will deliver, the former Congress chief said.
He said MSMEs have been asking for relief for years.
"If this arrogant government would listen to the people they would understand that a simplified GST with a single tax rate would solve the problems of lakhs of businesses," Gandhi said.
