Traffic hit, power line shut as youth climbs 132 kV high-tension transmission tower in Nigdi; rescued after 3 hours

Pune: A three-hour rescue operation ended successfully on Monday night after a youth dubbed as ‘mentally unstable' by the police climbed a 132 kV high-tension transmission tower in Nigdi's Yamunanagar area.Besides bringing the unidentified youth down safely, authorities managed to avert a major power disruption event. Traffic had to be diverted onto the Bhakti Shakti-Talawade Road in Pimpri Chinchwad during the incident.A large crowd had gathered at the spot as the youth, perched more than 100ft (30-35m) high on the tower, allegedly performed risky stunts and hung from the support cables used to balance the tower.The rescue operation that followed involved fire brigade personnel, police and Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (MSETCL) officials.Fire brigade officials said they received an alert around 9.15pm and rushed nearly 50 personnel to the site along with necessary equipment, including a 55m-high Bronto Skylift. "During the rescue, the man attempted to throw down a joint of the tower's earthing wire, but fortunately no one was injured," a fire brigade official said.Rushikant Chipade, fire officer of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), said the rescue operation was delayed due to the dangers posed by the high-tension power line. "MSETCL officials took nearly an hour to shut down the supply, as power to such lines cannot be disconnected abruptly and a set safety protocol has to be followed. Even after the shutdown, we had to wait another half an hour because residual static current remains in the cables for some time. Once our team was able to reach the youth, he was brought down safely within 15-20 minutes using the available equipment," he said, adding that the rescue was completed around 11.30pm.While MSETCL officials were in the process of shutting down the power supply, fire brigade personnel and police teams kept trying to persuade the youth to climb down, while a jumping sheet and tarpaulin were spread beneath the tower as a precautionary safety measure. The presence of huge crowd in the area, further complicated the rescue, an official said.A senior MSETCL official said supply on the affected line was disconnected for nearly two hours and 30 minutes as per protocol, but consumers did not face outages as alternate arrangements were made. "If backup arrangements were not available, a large number of consumers, including residential users and major industries such as the Bajaj plant, could have been affected," the official said, adding that the power supply was resumed around 12.20am.He said officials were able to take a decision at their level since it was a 132 kV line, but in the case of higher-capacity transmission lines such as 220 kV, shutting down power in such situations involves a longer process and requires approval from senior management.Senior police inspector Mahesh Bansode of the Nigdi police station said, "The youth was taken into custody but appeared mentally unstable and was unable to reveal his identity. He has been sent to Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH) for treatment. His identity is yet to be ascertained." He added that no legal action has been taken in the matter.
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