Does human life carry any value in India?

Electrocuted Worker at Phulkal in Medak District, Andhrapradesh

This is yet another death of a man due to non-safe procuderes which are still being followed back in India. This man was a worker trying to fix some electrical components for the power supply. He 'assumed' that as usual the power would not be turned on, on this line till he fixes the transformer, but unfortunately someone did turn it on. A valuable life lost. I would not discuss if he had a family or the number of dependents on his income, because it is not the question here. The question is, has the value of life become soo cheap that this man was allowed to work on the transformer without the knowledge of the man who turned the power on, to this power line ? Are there any standard procedures to follow before some one gets up a transformer to work ? I guess not. How many people in public would care if there are any standard procedures for safety of workers ? All people care is if they have electricity when their favourite show comes up on TV and the fan runs when they want it ! Coming to the compensation of this man's death, it wont be more than a lakh. Is the life of this man worth just a lakh rupees ! I wonder how many more deaths like this are needed to bring down a change in the way the electricity department works in India. Did this man's death go in vain ? No. I have seen this and would not let this death go waste. What would I do, well time has to say, but I shall give the soul of this man the satisfaction that something came out of his untimely death.

Update : My friend Sumanth, brought to my notice that a few employees are seen to use Walkie-Takies and that there was a good protocol to be followed. So I guess the lineman was ignorant in this case but yet the employer should have made sure that such ignorant people are not allowed to jobs like this.

Picture Credit : Eenadu Online Newspaper