National Highway 58 links Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh with Badrinath in Uttarakhand. This Highway passes through Meerut, Hardwar and Rishikesh.Recently I had a journey through this road during day time as well as night. The journey was through both villages and towns. Even though I took all possible care to select the vehicle, it developed a snag, and had to break my journey at a couple of occasions.
My cab driver seems consider it his birthright to drive and the road belongs to us! Throughout the journey, he had been using mobile phone while driving and never compromised on speed. When I asked him to stop either the vehicle or the use of mobile, he politely showed me another driver, of a passenger bus using mobile, while driving!!. He was least bothered about the speed breaker, which soon landed up us in a highway workshop.
He that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned
To drive safely, one must follow many rules and laws. To follow these rules, you must know what traffic lights and signs mean. , understand "right-of-way" laws and how to use traffic lanes. The driver must know where and when you can park. In absence of laws, use courtesy guidelines and common sense. (But common sense is not common!!)Be smart, aware and enjoy the drive rather than endure it! And never become a nuisance to the flow of traffic.
As the mechanic and driver were busy with repair, I had a coffee from nearby shop .I soon found Power theft in the cafeteria and in the work shop also. Soon I realized that my mechanic is using the light for repairing the vehicle in the unauthorized way. I had a glance of inside the workshop; a number of truck batteries are put to charge. Needless to say, pilfered energy is being used there.
Roof top of Cafeteria
Top of Workshop
To my surprise, pilferage of electricity is found at as many as nine locations just between three electric posts, in a township. As I ‘m venturing into that place for the first time and it being odd time, I stopped my investigation there. Many of the shops are outlets of nationally and internationally famous Brands. With much care, I took the snap of a Power theft, and verified whether I’m under surveillance or not .People are busy with their jobs. This gives me an impression that stealing electricity is a way of life and right of a person of this locality.
Soon I contacted my colleagues with whom I detected a lot of power theft. It surprised them also that nobody is caring a stranger taking snaps of power theft. During our mission of detecting power theft at another part of the country, people either make trouble or try to remove the evidence of power theft, once they realize that they are under the surveillance of an inspection team.
It is wrong to say that nobody is watching me!
The return journey was during day time .I made a stock of the situation. The vehicle moved slowly for one kilometer distance so that I could count the number of Power theft. Since it was a 6 way- road, I could count it only on one side. I found as many as 121 odd power thefts along the road side only and that itself on one side!!!.There was no technical skill involved, and all the works have been done in a dangerous manner.
The duty of obeying the laws of one 's country arises from the duty of gratitude for the benefits one has received from it and the laws are potent instruments for the general good.
Obeying the law is the greatest good for the greatest number of people and is a general moral obligation. Let revolution begin in our minds to obey rules.
Engineer does a James Bond Act
It was a James Bond-like impersonation that helped Kerala State Electricity Board engineer, Mr G. Srinivasan, to bust the secrets of a major power theft gang in 2004.
Encouraged by the then power minister, Mr Aryadan Mohammed, Mr Sreenivasan, a member of the KSEB’s power theft squad, pretended to be the CEO of a private firm and met the kingpin of the gang secretly seeking help to ‘steal’ power.
“We only had his mobile number and so we had to undertake this impersonation. I even worked in the private firm’s office for a few days to give it a real feel,” Mr Sreenivasan told Deccan Chronicle.
“It was a dangerous exercise as he was a hardcore criminal. But we drove together and he told me the modus operandi.”
With the tips inadvertently given by the gang, the KSEB squad took out raids and detected power theft worth `150 crore across the state.
These and similar adventures pepper the book ‘Power Theft’ penned by Mr Srinivasan, now resident engineer of the KSEB in New Delhi. According to Mr Srinivasan, power theft causes a loss of thousands of crores of rupees in the country every year. (Deccan Chroicle)
“Of the 800 billion units of power we produce, 10 per cent is thieved in various ways,” he said. In his well-researched book brought out by Prentice Hall, Mr Sreenivasan details around 54 ways of stealing power.
Naturally, the state electricity minister, Mr A.K. Balan, had some trepidation while releasing the book here on Friday. “I hope it does not turn out to be an inspiration for amateur power thieves as all the methods are described in detail,” said Mr Balan.
He that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned
To drive safely, one must follow many rules and laws. To follow these rules, you must know what traffic lights and signs mean. , understand "right-of-way" laws and how to use traffic lanes. The driver must know where and when you can park. In absence of laws, use courtesy guidelines and common sense. (But common sense is not common!!)Be smart, aware and enjoy the drive rather than endure it! And never become a nuisance to the flow of traffic.
As the mechanic and driver were busy with repair, I had a coffee from nearby shop .I soon found Power theft in the cafeteria and in the work shop also. Soon I realized that my mechanic is using the light for repairing the vehicle in the unauthorized way. I had a glance of inside the workshop; a number of truck batteries are put to charge. Needless to say, pilfered energy is being used there.
Roof top of Cafeteria
Top of Workshop
To my surprise, pilferage of electricity is found at as many as nine locations just between three electric posts, in a township. As I ‘m venturing into that place for the first time and it being odd time, I stopped my investigation there. Many of the shops are outlets of nationally and internationally famous Brands. With much care, I took the snap of a Power theft, and verified whether I’m under surveillance or not .People are busy with their jobs. This gives me an impression that stealing electricity is a way of life and right of a person of this locality.
Soon I contacted my colleagues with whom I detected a lot of power theft. It surprised them also that nobody is caring a stranger taking snaps of power theft. During our mission of detecting power theft at another part of the country, people either make trouble or try to remove the evidence of power theft, once they realize that they are under the surveillance of an inspection team.
It is wrong to say that nobody is watching me!
The return journey was during day time .I made a stock of the situation. The vehicle moved slowly for one kilometer distance so that I could count the number of Power theft. Since it was a 6 way- road, I could count it only on one side. I found as many as 121 odd power thefts along the road side only and that itself on one side!!!.There was no technical skill involved, and all the works have been done in a dangerous manner.
The duty of obeying the laws of one 's country arises from the duty of gratitude for the benefits one has received from it and the laws are potent instruments for the general good.
Obeying the law is the greatest good for the greatest number of people and is a general moral obligation. Let revolution begin in our minds to obey rules.
