LESCO linemen equipment-less, medically unfit to perform duties

LAHORE: Linemen of the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) lack proper equipment and are medically unfit to perform their duties including working on electricity poles and addressing complaints of citizens, Pakistan Today has learnt.
According to consumers, linemen often came to their houses without any gadgets and equipment to repair electricity lines. The technicians often had to work under unsafe conditions exposing them to danger especially electric shocks. According to estimates, more than 100 linemen are killed and injured ever year.
Linemen had to work in the rain season, which proved lethal for them. Around 70 percent of linemen death occurred in the rainy season. Senior Subdivision Lineman Akram Khan complained that technicians lacked equipment such as gloves, helmets, electric meters and belts. “We have to work under difficult situations and have to risk our lives,” he said.
Akram said that LESCO often received complaints regarding low or high voltages. “We don’t have electric meters to check the voltages and just work on assumptions,” he lamented. According to LESCO safety rules, every lineman should be given a helmet, electric meter, pair of rubber gloves, leather gloves, safety shoes and belt.
Without the kit, no lineman was allowed to operate and if LESCO did not provide the equipment to the linemen, they could refuse to climb on electricity poles. Besides lacking the equipment, a majority of linemen were more than 40 years of age. Due to the situation, linemen suffered from diabetes, hypertension and backache. Linemen suffering from diabetes could not wear safety shoes.
“Linemen suffering from diabetes avoid using safety shoes, as it irritates them. Similarly, linemen having heart problems face difficulty in climbing poles,” said a LESCO sub-divisional officer (SDO). He said that a majority of accidents occurred due to lack of equipment and poor health of linemen. Various officials of LESCO said that all linemen were more than 45 years old, as it took around 20 years for an assistant lineman to become a full lineman. According to LESCO rules, assistant linemen could not climb on the polls and linemen have to perform the task.
An assistant lineman had to wait at least 15 to 20 years to become a full lineman and when he becomes a lineman he is not physically fit to perform his duties, said a LESCO official. He said that unfortunately a majority of the linemen were physically unfit to perform their duties.
There were around 2,000 linemen working in different sub-divisions of the city. LESCO had 160 sub-divisions in the city and each sub-division had 12 to 15 linemen. Every year, more than 100 linemen were electrocuted or injured while repairing electricity lines, said Pakistan WAPDA Hydro-Electric Central Labour Union Secretary General Khurshid Ahmed. Another senior LESCO official said that the company should send the linemen to other sections and hire fresh and young people for the job.
The new recruiters be trained and given the task for laying and repairing electricity lines. “It is a hard job (repairing and laying power lines) and requires good health and sound eyesight,” he said adding that during work at different sub-divisions, linemen died due to physical reasons. “LESCO should make a medical board and test the health of linemen.
Half of them would be diabetic and the other would be heart patients,” he added. He said that during training, the new staff be deployed in the construction department. “LESCO should not only train newly appointed staff but also ask them to lay electricity lines in many areas,” he said.