Live electrical cable left exposed for 6 days
A live electrical cable was left dangling a metre from the ground for six days, endangering the lives of pedestrians as well as the parents and children at a nearby nursery school in Bhimy Damane Street.
Its not the first time that Bhimy Damane residents have had to stand on their heads to gain the attention of the municipality, to remove deadly hazards from their sidewalks.
One resident, who requested to stay anonymous, said it is shocking to think that the municipality as well as its electrical department could have so little regard for the lives of the community. Residents reported the cable on numerous occasions, and even the calls of DA Ward Councillor, San-Mari Wait, were left ignored for six days.
The resident explained that the cable was dangling on the sidewalk right outside of his driveway, which is located nearby the Klim and Klouter Kleuterskool.
Parents stop there in their numbers throughout the day to drop off and collect their children and could easily make contact with the live cable accidentally. He found it miraculous that no one had been electrocuted.
Out of desperation, another gentleman had finally made use of fishing gut to pull the live cable to the side to avoid a fatal accident. After incessantly complaining to both the DA and www.mobserver.co.za, the cable was finally repaired Wednesday evening.
•The resident’s complaint brings another similar incident to mind which took place early December last year, when an exposed underground cable was also left shorting for four days.
The cable was also situated in Bhimy Damane Street behind Laerskool Middelburg, which parents frequently use for parking. Staff members at Proffettio Accounting and Tax Practitioners echoed the same rhetoric of begging and pleading with the municipality to send someone out, and Cllr. Wait made numerous reports as well.
•Affected parties acknowledge that the incident occurred during the municipal strike, which halted all service delivery. They however pointed out that contractors were deployed to tend to electrical faults that left Dennesig and Kanonkop without electricity, which rightfully asks the question as to why contractors were never arranged to repair the electrical cable in mention.
•Www.mobserver.co.za has sent a media enquiry to the STLM communications office, but no response was received before time of publication.
