16 electrocuted in Chamoli: How traffic challan saved a life

Mohd Faizan, a local resident, had an unexpected stroke of luck when he was intercepted by a traffic cop due to incomplete documents for his bike. Little did he know that this seemingly inconvenient encounter would be a blessing in disguise. Faizan was on his way to the Namami Gange project sewage treatment plant (STP) at Pipalkoti on the banks of Alaknanda on Wednesday when his bike was seized, preventing him from reaching the site where a tragic electrocution incident happened in Chamoli.

As fate would have it, there was an accident at the STP site, sixteen people, including a sub-inspector and three home guard personnel, were electrocuted on Wednesday. Six seriously injured people were airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh of whom two are in critical condition.

Faizan's incomplete documents saved him from being present at the scene when the mass electrocution occurred. Grateful for his fortuitous turn of events, Faizan realized that the traffic cop's action unknowingly protected him from the unfolding tragedy.


However, Faizan was not the only one who experienced such a fortunate escape. After the tragic incident, several other stories of lucky avoidance came to light. Inspector Kuldeep Rawat, responsible for the area under the jurisdiction of Pipalkoti police station, was supposed to visit the STP site but had to leave for Nainital for a high court hearing. As a result, his junior colleague, sub-inspector Pradeep Rawat, went in his place and tragically succumbed to the electrocution incident.

Similarly, executive engineer Sanjay Shrivastava and Hardev Arya were expected to be present at the STP site, but they had to make an unexpected change in their plans due to the visit of the Jal Sansthan secretary. Their junior colleague, Sandeep Kumar, bravely took their place and unfortunately suffered severe burns, now fighting for his life at AIIMS-Rishikesh.