Residents of a part of Dakshin (south) Banasree are under serious risk of getting electrocuted as several hundred houses of the area have been using electricity by drawing power lines with the help of bamboo poles.

Usually a house owner has to take the connection from a nearby electricity pole, but the residents of the area including J, H and M blocks are relying on bamboos since the housing company did not set up the poles, they said.

This has been going on for several years, they said, adding that they have also provided money as per the requirement of the housing project to ensure utility services.

The haphazard and makeshift arrangement could cause a serious accident, said the residents. They said they were using temporary meters and paying bills regularly.

“Electric poles will be set up shortly as the government has taken an initiative…,” said Mohammad Nadim, site in-charge of the Eastern Housing Limited housing project in Banasree.

“We have provided other utility services and constructed roads under the project,” he said. “We have already applied to the government but the process takes time.”

Contacted, an official of Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) in Banasree said they have not been issuing any new connection since March.

He, however, said over 100 homes in south Banasree that did not use any electricity poles for the power lines had temporary meters. “We are working to set up 314 electricity poles under the Banasree division of DPDC, mostly on the main road.”

“It costs Tk 70,000 to 1 lakh to set up a pole which can cover the houses within 100 feet radius,” he said. “If the housing company had set up the poles, then this problem would not have arisen.”

“It's really frustrating that we have to wait for so long…The housing company was supposed to set up the poles, but they keep stalling,” said a resident.

While visiting the area it was seen that several makeshift bamboo poles were erected to draw power lines. Many of which were also leaning precariously.

A serious accident may occur anytime because of this situation, feared Ziaul Haque, a resident of east Rampura.

“Around 50 feet of wires were stolen from our house five months back. We had to stay without electricity for a day and eventually spent Tk 7,000 to purchase new wires,” said a resident of road-10 (block-M).

Nurul Alam, a resident of Baganbari of south Banasree, said the power distribution company asked them to take the line from other poles and then they will give the temporary connections.

“But large and heavy vehicles from Demra to Rampura run every day, and the chance of wires getting tangled or torn is enormous. A few days back, a wire got tangled with a truck and fell on the road, which was later repaired by the DPDC.”

Also, the bamboo poles are not sturdy and can be uprooted or damaged easily even in a light storm, he said.