In order to avoid any accidents due to broken electric wires during situations like cyclones or heavy rains in Coimbatore, the Citizen’s Voice Club of the city has requested the Coimbatore Zone of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) to reconstruct EB lines here.

Starting from adding grids below the cables to block broken cables from falling, to adding ducts in the cable towers, the members have suggested that immediate reconstruction should be implemented.

C M Jayaraman, President of the club, said that since most of the cables are above the ground, there were chances that the cables might break and gravely injure those who step on them. “The grids will protect the wires from falling. When the wires break and fall, the parallel fuse will automatically go off resulting in power cut in the area, which can be easily repaired soon,” he said.

Raising concern over crossing of EB wires close to cell phone towers, Jayaraman opined that the department should consider shifting of mobile towers that are near EB cables a little farther.

He further added that like the Railways and other companies, TANGEDCO should also consider introducing POS (Point of Sale) machines at their offices to encourage customers to make cashless transactions in addition to its online payment scheme. “This will contribute to the Central’s Government’s moves to digitise transactions all over the country,” he said.

In addition, the organisation has requested TANGEDCO to write contact numbers of the respective official in-charge of the poles on each pole so as to help the public call the right person during power cuts. “The poles should also be numbered for easy identification,” said Jayaraman.