Hanging overhead wires pose threat amid heatwave, says Delhi Congress chief

Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav on Sunday said the hanging overhead wires, including those of electricity, cable and internet wires, have been posing danger to the lives and buildings of people across the national capital for the past many years.

Yadav blamed the situation on the carelessness and inaction of the previous AAP government, and questioned what the present BJP regime has been doing to address the issue. He alleged that the government has failed to resolve the problem by removing such wires, adding that they almost caused a tragedy when 14 flats in a building in Laxmi Nagar’s Ramesh Park were gutted after sparks from overhead wires, triggered by the heatwave, ignited a transformer fire.

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According to the Congress leader, residents in many colonies across Delhi have been complaining about hanging wires that pose multiple threats to motorists, pedestrians, flat residents and housing societies. He said many of these wires—discarded by internet providers, cable operators and even power distribution companies, including live ones—hang precariously overhead and can spark during heatwaves, leading to avoidable accidents that could be averted only if the government agencies took steps to remove them.

He said it was sheer luck that no lives were lost in the Ramesh Park power transformer inferno, as residents managed to rush out in time. However, their flats got gutted, causing big losses, and he demanded appropriate financial compensation for them.

Yadav said the Delhi Congress had warned the Rekha Gupta government to take proper steps to tackle heatwave conditions before the mercury rises, alleging that the government’s response has been slow. He added that it is a worrying trend that Delhi has seen temperatures exceeding 40°C for nearly 40 days over the past two to three years, alleging that despite this, the government has shown no urgency to take pre-emptive action.