The monsoon has ended, however Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) has not removed electricity transformers trolleys placed at different main roads of the city.
Currently, these trolleys can be seen at Barkat Market Garden Town, Model Town, Peco Road, Green Town, Township, Faisal Town and at many other spots in the Walled City. At some places, these trolleys pose life risk to the pedestrians and motorists.
These transformers are a part of temporary arrangements made during summer and rainy seasons, when power demand rises and existing transformers become out of order. The LESCO officials, instead of mounting transformers on poles, install heavy capacity transformers in trolleys. It is necessary for every sub-division to remove these trolleys and install transformers on electricity poles so that people do not get hurt. These trolleys are only three to four feet high and any child could climb over it easily. In these days, these trolleys can be found on main roads and in populated areas, causing traffic problems and life threats to the people.
Normally, transformers are mounted 12-feet high between two electricity polls to avoid traffic problems and accidents. If LESCO’s area office does not have a transformer, then a special trolley carrying a transformer is placed on temporary basis. Often, transformers are installed on trolleys in the summer.
A LESCO official told Pakistan Today that the sub-division of the concerned LESCO office should remove the trolleys within a week or two at maximum. “Unfortunately, LESCO officials don’t replace such trolleys and leave it for months,” he added.
The citizens also complained about traffic problems due to these trolleys. For instance, a transformer in Garden Town Barkat market often causes traffic problems. Citizens said that LESCO officials were careless in removing these trolleys and often accidents occurred on these roads. Last year, a transformer trolley was placed at a service lane at PECO Road and it was removed after two months and this year a similar problem is occurring and a transformer trolley had been placed at the same place for long time.
Similarly, a transformer placed in Green Town is posing risk to children and pedestrians. “I see many children passing near the trolley and touch it,” said a resident Khurram Anees adding it was dangerous and should be removed immediately. These transformers also cause traffic problems. Due to the huge size of the trolley, one lane of the road is blocked causing traffic jams. “Just like last year, a transformer trolley has been placed at Model Town Link Road and is causing traffic jams,” said a motorist Sadeed Ather.
Transformer trolleys pose life risk, jam traffic
