Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Monday issued notices to senior police officials seeking detailed action-taken reports on the death due to electrocution of an eight-year-old girl at a Ganpati pandal in the Kalachowki area of Mumbai in the wee hours of Sunday. Besides the girl, a 33-year-old woman was killed, and four others suffered electric shocks.The incident occurred apparently after a short circuit near the entrance gate of Mahaganpati Utsav Mandal in Digvijay Mill Chawl (row tenement) on Dattaram Lad Marg in Kalachowki at 2.20 am on Sunday, when the area was witnessing massive crowds.As per the notice, MSCPCR, taking suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the incident, has scheduled a hearing on Sept 23 at noon through video conference.It has directed Mumbai police chief to submit details of the FIR registered in connection with the incident, the preliminary investigation and action taken against the organisers of the Ganpati mandal or the electricity supplier, if applicable.It has also sought information on measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents, including electrical safety audits at major Ganeshotsav mandals across the state.Meanwhile, BEST has deployed vigilance squads across the city to inspect Ganesh pandals to ensure no illegal connections are drawn from the authorised connections. Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti has appealed to all sarvajanik Ganesh mandals not to compromise on electrical safety and make sure that BEST’s instructions for electric safety are strictly followed.BEST deputy general manager (Electric Supply) S P Makwana said teams have been sent to major Ganesh mandals and are conducting systematic inspections to identify illegal power drawals and ensure compliance with safety norms. “We will ensure that the connections taken by the Ganesh pandals are legally sanctioned by BEST. We also get a test report done by a licensed electrical contractor certifying that all installations in and around the pandal are safe,” he added.According to preliminary findings, BEST had sanctioned an exclusive electricity meter to Kalachowki Vibhag Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal. However, a nearby stall allegedly drew power through an unauthorised connection from the festival meter. “BEST has issued a formal notice to the mandal regarding faulty electrical connections. While the organisers have denied knowledge of the illegal supply, a detailed investigation is underway,” said another BEST official. He said a local wireman immediately switched off the power supply following the incident on Sunday. Subsequent inspections by BEST revealed that 11 meters were sharing the service for the pandal, though the neutral connection remained intact. Authorities disconnected the festival meter and issued a formal 38B notice to the mandal for faulty electrical installation. The electricity supply to the unauthorised stall has been completely disconnected pending inquiry.The samanvay samiti, in its appeal, said that to prevent a repeat of this incident and to ensure the safety of every devotee, every mandal should ensure that the ‘connected load’ of the entire electrical system does not exceed the approved load limit. The appeal, which listed the measures to be taken, stated that the capacity of the main wires/cables, switches, MCBs, ELCBs etc. needs to be in proportion to the connected load; besides, no joints should be made in the main wires. Furthermore, if it is necessary to route the main electrical wires outside the premises, armoured cables should be used. The samiti said that during monsoon, Ganesh mandals should take care to ensure that there are no temporary electrical connections, lighting arrangements or exposed wires in places where water accumulates. No matter how attractive the decorations and lighting of Ganesh mandals are, the lives of the devotees are more precious, the appeal said.
