On the direction of the National Human Rights Commission, the Wesco on Wednesday paid Rs three lakh compensation to Yashoda Nath, wife of deceased farmer Jagdish Nath of Dedarnuapali village under the Sadar police station in the district.
On June 20 2017, Jagdish died in his farmland when he unknowingly came in contact with a live wire that had snapped and fallen from the main line.
Locals and the family members alleged that the incident occurred due to negligence of the Wesco for not properly maintaining the service lines and the high-tension wires.
Further, the NHRC had directed the Sambalpur SP to inquire into the matter and submit a report so that responsibility could be fixed on persons at fault in the incident.
Earlier, the Energy Department had submitted a report to the commission claiming that the Wesco was in no way responsible for this tragic incident.
But the rights body did not accept the report and directed the distribution company to pay compensation of Rs three lakh to the deceased farmer’s kin.