14 killed in transformer blast, Rajasthan govt orders probe

A traditional ‘bhaat ceremony’, for the wedding of Bhairu Ram Gujjar’s daughters Tara and Meera was under way near the transformer when it exploded.

According to Jaipur District Collector Siddharth Mahajan, five persons died on the spot and 22 were taken to the SMS hospital for treatment.

Of the 22, eight died during treatment, while three have been discharged.

Among the critically injured patients, one woman delivered a stillborn.

Among the dead are a 35-year-old man, eight women aged between 22 and 70 years and four girls aged between 5 and 14 years. Counting the stillborn, the number of deaths stands at 14.

“The child’s mother remains critical. A total of 10 patients are admitted. Of these, five have over 50 per cent burns while five others have about 30-40 per cent burns,” hospital superintendent D S Meena said.

Mahajan said the kin of each deceased will be given Rs 10 lakh, Rs 5 lakh by the Jaipur Vidhyut Vitran Nigam Limited (JVVNL) and the rest from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. “The injured will be given compensation as per JVVNL norms,” he said.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje visited the injured on Tuesday evening in the hospital, along with Health Minister Kali Charan Saraf, Energy Minister Pushpendra Singh, Discoms Chairman Shrimat Pandey, among others.

The state government also ordered an inquiry to be headed by Divisional Commissioner Rajeshwar Singh.

Congress state president Sachin Pilot visited the injured in the hospital on Wednesday morning and demanded that the state government issue a white paper on the power department and the steps taken to increase public safety.

“Had power department workers disconnected electricity on time, more lives could have been saved,” Pilot said. Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore also met the families of the victims on Wednesday.

Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi “reminded” Raje that in April this year, Piyush Goyal, as Power Minister, had said that if there was a fault in transformers, action would be taken against guilty officials, and hence, the state government should act swiftly against the officials responsible for the tragedy.