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Updated - August 29, 2016 06:53 am IST - CHENNAI:
Snapping of overhead electricity cables and low-hanging power lines have been posing danger to the residents and have remained a headache for the authorities.
The tragic electrocution of a couple in Velachery, caused by the severing of an overhead electricity cable on November 22 last and the many electrocution deaths during the December floods are memories that are yet to recede.
To prevent such deaths, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd. (TANGEDCO) has been replacing overhead power lines with aerial bundled cables (ABC) in some areas identified by the authorities.
Unlike the present cables that are exposed to the elements, the ABCs have many advantages, including being corrosion-free and leaving no chance for accidents. “The insulated cable would be installed in areas that are narrow, thickly populated with tree branches and in slum tenements. However, the technology is cost-prohibitive,” a TANGEDCO official said.
The ABCs have replaced overhead cables in various places for a stretch of 100 km in mostly accident-prone and flood-hit areas of north and south Chennai, said the official. Interior areas of Tambaram, Perumbakkam, Medavakkam, Seethalapakkam, MGR Nagar, Soolaipallam, Alwarthirunagar Annexe, Tillai Ganga Nagar, Villivakkam, Maduravoyal, Nerkundram and Pattabhiram are the places where ABCs have been installed, he added. TANGEDCO proposes to expand the ABC network in the coming years as they are clutter-free and do not occupy much space.
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Source: thehindu
