New Delhi: A lineman in Karnataka is being hailed as a hero after he risked his life by braving floods to reach a submerged transformer and switch it on in a bid to restore water supply to the village.
Manjunath Kumbar (25), who hails from Konnur village in Nargund taluk in Karnataka, swam through the swelling floodwaters to turn on an electric transformer so that a he could restore drinking water supply to a parched village
It is to be noted that amid incessant rainfall, the release of excess water from the Naviluteertha dam into the Malaprabha river had caused flooding in and around Konnur village., leading to two transformers connected to the 11000-KV high tension line getting submerged.
Upon realising that the transformer had submerged, Kumbar sprung into action and ensured the village gets water supply.
As per reports, one of the two transformers had to be switched off while the other had to be switched on to restore the power supply to the pump house that would provide the drinking water.
Notably, such acts come with its own risk and in a similar incident, a lineman had lost his life in Karnataka earlier.
A lineman of Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd (BESCOM) drowned in a lake in Tumakuru district while on a job to restore power which got disrupted following heavy rains.
After getting information from the local people, 38-year-old Mahesh Gowder had left for power restoration work of a faulty F6 Jenigarahalli feeder at Bidare in Gubbi taluk on Saturday, as per BESCOM. However, in order to reach the pole point, he had to swim in the Tippur lake, but drowned on the way.