The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is making sure that its employees who have lost their lives in accidents while on duty are not forgotten.
A memorial inscribed with the names of the deceased workers and officers will be erected at the Vydyuthi Bhavan, the KSEB headquarters at Pattom here, according to a December 6 circular. Tributes will be paid to them on Martyrs’ Day, January 30, it said.
The State-run power utility estimates that, to date, around 300 employees, officers and workers included, have died in workplace accidents. State Assembly records show that 47 KSEB staff and 62 contract workers have died in accidents since 2016. Electrocution while working on power distribution lines account for a majority of the casualties, a KSEB official said.
‘Zero casualty’ year
In recent years, emphasis on the use of safety gear and strict adherence to safety protocols have brought down the numbers, and the power utility is aiming to observe 2022 as a ‘zero casualty’ year.
The December 6 circular notes that while important steps have been taken to avoid accidents at the workplace, training sessions on safety-related matters have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This warrants extra caution on the part of the staff while on duty, the KSEB noted.
₹1 lakh as aid
The power utility is also taking steps to ensure prompt attention to employees who sustain injuries in accidents. For providing urgent medical care, chief engineers have been empowered to disburse upto ₹1 lakh as financial assistance.
The human resources wing of the KSEB has been directed to ensure that in the event of an employee’s death financial assistance be disbursed to the family within two months.
