Furious at the callous attitude of Bescom authorities that led to the electrocution of a seven-year-old boy in Indiranagar in 2004, the then chief minister, N Dharam Singh, asked them: “Katthe kaytha idra?” (Were you grazing donkeys?)
Furious at the callous attitude of Bescom authorities that led to the electrocution of a seven-year-old boy in Indiranagar in 2004, the then chief minister, N Dharam Singh, asked them: “Katthe kaytha idra?” (Were you grazing donkeys?)
The question is still relevant. Sunita, 8, was electrocuted on July 12, exactly on the seventh death anniversary of the Indiranagar victim, Anish Krishnan. Sunita and Anish’s death will not bring about any change, unless those concerned look at the tragedies from the bereaved families’ point of view, said Shonna Krishnan, elder sister of Anish.
“If I ever meet Bescom officials, I will only tell them to place themselves in the shoes of those families who have lost their little ones due to their (Bescom’s) faults,” said Shonna.
For Shonna, now a student of B Pharm in Manipal, life has changed after that fateful 2004 Monday, when a TV cable snapped from an electric pole snuffed out her brother’s life. The cable was in contact with a live wire.
Her parents left Bangalore — the city where their son had fallen victim to official apathy. Shonna’s mother is now in Texas, US, and her father in Chennai.
“My mother has been unable to forgive this city and how the electricity distribution company had taken away her son. My father forced himself to move on and returned to India. But he does not come to Bangalore anymore,” she said.
Shonna had hoped that things would change for the better. But each time media flashed reports of an electrocution, her memory would refresh the sight of her brother lying in a ditch, clutching a packet of biscuit.
Anish was returning home after buying the pack from a corner shop when he was killed. Shonna is young; she knows the pain death causes on those left to live. “I want to tell the government and the utility service department how aggravating it is to bear the loss of your dear one because of someone else’s fault,” she said.
The government had then announced an ex-gratia to the family of Anish. The family gave a part of the money to a school for blind children on Sree Krishna Temple Road in Indiranagar.
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