Falling tree pulls down street cables and poles
It is alleged a woman in Barker Road hired a non-professional to cut down a tree and the branches hooked down the live wires.
BARKER Road in Unigray was left in the dark at 17:00 after electric cables and poles hit the ground on Wednesday, August 12.
Residents and a contractor who were on the scene when the damage was being repaired, and who wish not to be named, alleged that the cables and poles fell because a resident hired a locally known helper to cut down an unwanted tree in her garden. They further alleged that the blackout was the result of falling branches that hooked onto the cables and took down the poles and live wires. The contractor said the wires were live when they collapsed and also told the COURIER that the incident could have caused sparks, been the cause of someone being electrocuted or hit a passing vehicle.
“To be honest it was probably a freak accident. The poles were very old and rotten. Only a new pole could resist the weight of the tree branches. When the collapse happened we tried phoning City Power but it was very difficult to reach them. We ran out of airtime and batteries and slept in the dark. They are only fixing it now after 10:00, our meat
is getting damaged,” said another female resident who also wished not to be named.
Other residents said the woman should have applied for permission to cut the tree down and used professional contractors to do the cutting safely. The woman in question could not be reached for comment. It has not been confirmed if the woman had permission to cut the tree down.
The COURIER has requested comment from City Power and the resident but at the time of going to press nothing was forthcoming.
