Another day, another electrocution death in Kashmir. Another poor worker climbs an electric pole without proper safety gear, another family loses its breadwinner, and another condolence message is issued before the system moves on as if nothing happened. These deaths are no longer accidents; they are institutional failures.
The Valley has witnessed a disturbing rise in electrocution incidents over the years, particularly involving casual labourers, linemen, and daily wagers working under the Power Development Department (PDD). Reports reveal that more than 400 workers associated with the department have died since 2010 while performing electrical duties. In just the last five years, at least 62 daily-wage PDD linemen lost their lives due to electrocution, while 84 others suffered permanent disabilities after falling from poles or coming into contact with live wires.
Official figures presented this year further exposed the horrifying scale of the crisis. As many as 41 power workers in Jammu and Kashmir reportedly died in electrical accidents, including both regular employees and daily wagers. These are not mere statistics. Behind every number is a shattered family, children pushed into poverty, widows abandoned to uncertainty, and aging parents left helpless.
The most painful part is that many of these deaths are entirely preventable. Workers are often sent to repair live lines without proper shutdown procedures, adequate training, insulated gloves, safety belts, helmets, or supervision. Some are hired on meagre wages and forced to risk their lives for a few hundred rupees a day. In many cases, electricity is restored while workers are still on poles, exposing criminal negligence within the system.
The Labour Department and the PDD cannot escape responsibility. Their silence has become complicity. Safety audits remain confined to files, while ground realities tell a completely different story. Departments proudly speak about infrastructure upgrades and smart power projects, yet fail to ensure the basic safety of the very men who keep electricity running across the Valley.
Even more shameful is the treatment of families after these deaths. Many daily wagers are neither insured nor properly compensated. Several families continue to wait for jobs, financial assistance, or rehabilitation years after losing their loved ones.
A government that cannot protect its workers loses the moral right to call itself welfare-oriented. Kashmir does not need more hollow assurances or ceremonial meetings after tragedies. It needs accountability. Every electrocution death must trigger a judicial inquiry. Officers responsible for negligence should face criminal action. No worker should be allowed near live wires without certified safety equipment and proper technical clearance.
Electricity may power homes, but negligence is powering funerals. Unless authorities wake up now, more families in Kashmir will continue to pay for official apathy with human lives.
