Villagers near Pernambut told to pay for replacing dilapidated lamp post

VELLORE: Residents of Pasmarbenta, a hill village located around 12 km from Pernambut, who have been urging to replace a street lamp pole standing precariously, were taken aback by the reply of the EB officials as the latter demanded Rs 10,000.

Locals had repeatedly complained about a damaged power pole on a street in Pasmarbenta as concrete in most portion had fallen. Due to this, the condition of the pole was so threatening that it could fall any time posing risk to the lives of road users.

Residents said that when they asked Tangedco officials to replace the post, the latter demanded Rs 10,000. Irked villagers said that they were not demanding the shifting of the pole and only wanted it to be replaced.

They also informed officials that it was a streetlight pole maintained by the EB and hence it was officials’ job to replace it.

When their pleas fell on deaf ears, local youth took out a funeral procession with a garland and then tied it around the pole. Later, they informed all the 300-odd houses to switch off their power mains to prevent any mishap in case the pole fell at times of heavy winds.

“We fear to fetch water from the public tap located opposite the pole as it might fall any moment,” Kumaresan, a local youth stated.

When DT Next contacted the Pernambut JE, a subordinate official said that the JE had gone to Pasmarbenta with a team of workers to set things right.