Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (SP)

Kundapur, Aug 27: Dinesh Putran Vithalwadi, who has been serving Mescom office at Shiriyara in the taluk, has invented a simple equipment that helps even laymen to scale electric poles without any problem.

During monsoon months, electric cables get snapped either on account of wind or falling trees. Mescom linemen are on their toes during these months, as they receive a plethora of complaints relating to electric supply. Mescom also suffers from dearth of linemen, and many linemen are not skilled enough to scale electric poles made of concrete, which get slippery during monsoon months on account of moss which gets accumulated on its surface. It is not rare for the linemen to slip from the pole and fall down, getting injured, etc. Dinesh Putran, towards mitigating these problems, has invented 'electric pole climber'.

Electric pole climber is a simple equipment weighing not more than 1.5 kg. The instrument is shaped like the letter 'F'. On one side, bolt nuts have been provided to fix the footwear of the person willing to climb the pole. The unit meant for left leg is shaped like F, while the right side is shaped like F in the reverse. The entire instrument is about four inches wider than the pole. When this instrument is fixed to the pole, and someone steps on it, the instrument gets locked and does not slip, irrespective of whether the surface is slippery or not. People can also work by standing on this instrument with one leg, explains Dinesh Putran.

This instrument is cheap too. Total cost of the instrument including footwear, iron bars and labour, does not exceed Rs 1,000. Putran, who has devised this cheap but useful instrument that enables people to go up electric poles in all seasons, has always got involved with various experiments for the benefit of the people since his young days. He has also been involved with frequent visits to schools to explain to the children about ways and means to remain safe from electricity, minimizing use of power, etc. He also has been creating awareness about safety concerns through erecting banners in public places, besides undertaking cleanliness drive, among other things.