Strange Sequence of Events Leads to Live Wire Killing Ratham Pullers

Hyderabad: A ‘ratham’ that ran out of fuel. A television cable spanning two buildings that came apart at its connector and fell on a 11KV power line and and touched a ‘ratham’ that was the centre of attraction of the Janmashtami rath yatra. The ratham that ran out of fuel. The volunteers that rushed in to push the stranded ratham.

All of these incidents, otherwise could have passed off unconnected to one another at any other time, came together at once, turning the festivities into a tragedy in Ramanthapur late on Sunday night.

The heat from the 11KV power line melted through the television cable’s insulation. The copper core of the TV cable got fused with the loaded electricity supply line.

People on the rath and some others taking part in the procession decided to move the ratham forward as it ran out of fuel. They completed the electric circuit that got ‘grounded’. Those in contact with the ratham while standing on the ground trying to move it became part of the circuit that resulted in their electrocution.

The television cable came apart at its ‘male’ connector which had a bit of its copper core wire exposed. The connector would have otherwise been in the socket of the cable.

“This series of events happened in a way none could have anticipated. Those pulling the ratham were affected while those on the vehicle were safe as the rubber tyres prevented the grounding of the power that was passing through the vehicle,” an official explained. “Had it not run out of fuel just at that spot, this accident would not have occurred.”

“The single most contributing factor was the television cable that was dangling between two buildings and came loose. Once this happened and the ratham reached the spot where its end was hanging from the power line, the event happened very fast,” the official said.

Electricity department officials have cautioned that a non-electric cable, such as a television cable with broken insulation, even when not touching the electric wires, can conduct electricity if close enough to the power lines.

“Typically, for 11KV power lines, this radius where the power lines have an active energy field is about 6 inches. So when people use bamboo poles to push cables away from the ‘rathams’ as it happens most frequently during the Ganesh idol processions, they must be very careful. And it if is raining, and since broken insulation of the non-electricity cables cannot be seen easily, it is advisable not to try and push cables away as a fully wet bamboo or any other wooden pole, because of the film of water on it, can also become a conductor and cause accidents,” a senior electricity department engineer said.

Had the ‘ratham’ not run out of fuel just then, it is very likely that it may have brushed past the dangling charged television cable and moved on, and none may have faced electrocution or suffered a shock as long as they were not touching or holding on to the vehicle while walking alongside it. The vehicle itself would have been insulated with its rubber tyres breaking the flow of electricity and the power not getting earthed. On Monday, that was not to be.