Illegal electricity connections a death trap for Eldos residents

Slovo Park residents have turned their informal settlement and neighbouring areas into death traps out of desperation for electricity, with children and residents paying the ultimate price of electrocutions that seem to be a common occurrence of late, reports Westside Eldos.

The electricity supplied to Slovo Park is directly connected to the overhead power lines in Eldorado Park, with visible cables laid on the ground and hung in the air, crossing the N12 Highway which separates the two areas.

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The pedestrian bridge between the two areas are covered with exposed red and blue cables, a sight many have become so used to, it almost seems normal.

Many lives have been cut short because of these exposed cables, and Eldorado Park residents feel unsafe because they claim that nothing is being done about it.

An Yster Crescent resident in Eldorado Park Proper said that she took matters into her own hands and walked across the bridge to Slovo Park to plead with the residents to stop the illegal connections.

“Slovo Park is being supplied with their own electricity, but they continue to steal from us because they do not want to pay,” she said.

According to community activist Bishop Robertson, he has been working closely with the community and can confirm that illegal connections are commonplace in all the extensions in Eldorado Park.

“A few days ago, a man lost his life under the Slovo Park Bridge. He accidentally stepped onto an electrical cable and it killed him instantly. Children from Goudpark Primary School cross this bridge every day and I am worried that one day they too will be electrocuted,” said Robertson.

A few weeks ago, another man was electrocuted at the Jamila Shopping Centre, he died instantly. Last year, a young girl lost her life because of these exposed cables.

“She was walking and suddenly flew up into the air. An eight-year-old boy was also electrocuted around the same time,” said a resident. Residents are urged to be careful when walking the streets in Nancefield.

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