PONDA: An youth identified as Pramod Naik, died, at 6 pm, due to electrocution Friday day evening at Mhalshi-Curti on Bethora-Borim Highway, near Magdum Factory. The 27-year-old resident of Avantinagar, Tisk, Usgao, and native of Karnataka, came in contact with high tension power lines and breathed his last.
Ponda PI Tushar Lotlikar said this is a suspected case of electrocution and more details would known after further investigation. The body has been kept at the Ponda Sub District Hospital.
According to Ponda Police, the youth was returning from Bethora to Usgao and was found lying by the roadside at Bethora, where PWD has landfilled the roadside valley for national highway widening. He is supposed to have parked his bike at roadside and went to urinate, when he is suspected to have been electrocuted. He was shifted to Ponda Sub District Hospital where he was declared brought dead.
This is the second death due to electrocution in Ponda . Earlier few month ago at Jofilnagar Ponda, a crane operator died when he was operating crane mounted on a truck. He was loading the wooden logs into truck and was electrocuted in the process.
The national highway at Bethora is being widened into four lane road and for this the valley at roadside is being landfilled. The electricity poles of 33 KV are in the valley and after landfilling the overhead electric lines are lying just one and half meter to two metres above the road. The locals suspected that youth might have got electrocuted due to this. Further there is no street lights on most of stretch of Bethora highway, such that he could have seen the live wires.
Few months ago, a truck driver had a miraculous escape when his vehicle came in contact with electric lines when he attempted to park his truck by the roadside. O Heraldo had repeatedly highlighted the news to alert the authorities to take safety measures. However, nothing was done. The locals have blamed the Electricity Department and the PWD contractor for not shifting the power lines before landfilling by the roadside valley where high tension lines are passing.
