It is impossible to imagine human life without electricity. Electricity is unique in that it is not visible, yet if not used properly, it may hit very hard, killing, disfiguring, and crippling people. As a result, electrical safety is becoming increasingly important in our daily lives, particularly in religious buildings and temples where big crowds gather. Every day, we hear of incidents in various regions of the country caused by electrical short circuits, people being electrocuted, and fires caused by electrical cables and wires catching fire, resulting in the loss of valuable human life and assets, materials, and homes..
The following are the key reasons of such accidents:
- Ignorance.
- A lack of knowledge.
- Inadequate and infrequent maintenance.
- Taking shortcuts and failing to follow safety measures.
- Insufficient training.
- Using the incorrect tools.
- Failure to conduct frequent electrical safety audits on electrical systems.
Periodic electrical safety audits (similar to Master health check-ups) assist in identifying vulnerable dangers and risks in electrical systems and implementing prompt corrective steps to safeguard human life, assets, and properties. This applies to every location where electricity is used. More so in venues where huge crowds gather, such as temples, religious ceremonies, parks, cinemas, shopping malls, weddings, and other social gatherings. When an accident of any kind occurs in these areas, in addition to the damage caused by the original source, there will be a high level of panic among the population, resulting in secondary accidents such as stampedes, falls from great heights, pushing, and so on.
The severity of such catastrophes rises in sites of huge gatherings since these areas are frequently packed, surrounded by numerous small and large commercial shops/retail outlets and other structures, and even a little fire can quickly evolve into a significant accident. We have recently witnessed a few similar accidents that may have been averted if suitable preventive measures and working conditions had been in place.
a) Fire disaster in Madurai’s Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple- around 36 shops were burnt and Veera Vasantharayar Mandapam partially fell as a result of a fire accident on the premises of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple.
b) Another terrible occurrence occurred when a big fire broke out at the Puttingal temple in Paravur, Kerala’s Kollam district, killing at least 102 persons.
c) Two children out of eleven are electrocuted as the wire becomes entangled in the Tamil Nadu temple chariot procession.