Uttar Pradesh: Villagers block road in Kushinagar after woman dies in transformer blast incident
Kushinagar, June 29
A woman died after sustaining burn injuries in a transformer blast in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district, following which angry villagers blocked the Kasia-Padrauna road demanding compensation for the victim's family, officials said.
According to the district administration, the transformer explosion occurred a few days ago, triggering a fire that left four members of a family with burn injuries. One of the injured later succumbed to her injuries, sparking protests by local residents.
Speaking to ANI, Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Vaibhav Mishra said the administration intervened to restore normalcy after pacifying the agitating villagers.
He said, "A few days ago, a transformer from the electricity department burst, resulting in a fire. In this incident, four members of a family suffered burn injuries, and one person died. Enraged by this, the villagers blocked the road. With the efforts of the police and district administration, they were pacified, and the road has been cleared."
In a separate incident, on Sunday, a massive fire broke out at Himalayan Cold Storage in the Chinhat area in Lucknow, officials said.
Fire tenders were rushed to the spot soon after information about the blaze was received. Upon noticing the massive smoke, the security guard alerted the owner. The owner called the police, after which the officials arrived promptly.
Speaking to ANI about the incident, one of the locals recounted an incident where a fire broke out at the Himalaya Cold Store.
He said, "Fire broke out at the Himalaya Cold Store, the origin of which remains unknown. Upon noticing smoke, the security guard alerted the owner, who then called the police using the emergency number 112. The police arrived promptly, followed by the fire brigade. The cold store typically stores a variety of items; initially, it mainly stored potatoes, but now it also houses a significant amount of other items, including green chillies and dal."
— ANI
Reader Comments
Heartbreaking to hear about this loss of life. In India, we see these transformer explosions so often, especially in villages during monsoon season. The electric department needs to be more proactive with maintenance. Hope the family gets proper compensation and support. 🙏
It's good that the ADM and police acted quickly to pacify the villagers and clear the road, but the real solution is proper infrastructure. We can't keep having citizens block roads every time there's a power-related accident. The compensation should be automatic, not something you have to protest for.
The second incident about the cold storage fire in Lucknow is also concerning. एक ही दिन में दो हादसे! This shows our safety standards need serious improvement. At least the guard and owner reacted quickly in the cold storage case. 😓
Reading this from abroad, it's shocking how common these infrastructure failures are in India. The villagers' anger is justified—no family should lose a loved one due to a company's negligence in maintaining electrical equipment. Hope the Uttar Pradesh government takes this seriously.
The administration saying they 'pacified' the villagers sounds like they just managed to calm them down temporarily. The real issue—faulty transformers and lack of safety—remains unaddressed. And the cold storage fire shows it's not just electricity, but fire safety in general that needs attention. 😤
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