Safety gear a must for LESA’s technical staff

LESA GM directs SDOs, JEs to ensure linesmen do not work without protective equipment

To ensure safety of technical staff, Lucknow Electricity Supply Authority (LESA) general manager (GM) Ashutosh Srivastava has issued strict directives that no employee would be allowed to climb on poles for repair work without helmets and rubber gloves.

To note, several linesmen have died this year while repairing faults and falling from poles in the absence of safety gear.

In his directive, Srivastava said that he had seen many photographs of staff working on poles for maintenance and disconnection.

But no employee was seen with helmet and safety belt. He said it was the duty of officials to ensure that the lower staff followed safety norms.

“Deaths and accidents are increasing day by day. The staff and officials are equally to blame for this as linesmen do not use protective gear though it is available at sub stations,” he said.

He directed all executive engineers, SDOs and junior engineers to issue safety equipment even to contractual workers.

The GM has also directed contractors to sign an agreement with contractual workers so that the latter do not work on pole without protective gear.

If they were found violating the safety norms, they themselves would be responsible, not the department, he said.

According to the directives, JEs should ensure that no shutdown is allowed till staff is given helmets and other safety equipment and is using them properly while working.

SDOs and executive engineers should make surprise checks to ensure the implementation of the directive, the GM said.

However, the contractual workers, especially the linesmen, are not happy with the directive.

They feel that instead of being stern to contractors, the LESA GM is being strict with them.

They say that the contractors never give them safety gear and instead, force them to climb the poles without safety gear.

“Now the GM has written to contractors to make us sign the contract that if any accident takes place it would be our responsibility. This is arbitrary,” said a linesman.

“The practice of not providing safety gear will continue as it will be easy for the contractors and officials to blame linesmen for any mishap,” said another.