A 45-year-old garbage collector was critically injured on Saturday afternoon after accidentally coming in contact with a high-tension electric wire near D-Mart on Link Road near the municipal corporation premises in Nalasopara East in Palghar district.
According to eyewitnesses, Balaji Waghmare was looking for scrap on a heap of soil dumped on the land near Capital Mall where municipal work is underway. Locals said that a high-tension wire passes directly above the plot. Due to excessive soil filling, the height of the mound had risen dangerously close to the live wire.
While climbing the heap, Waghmare reportedly came in direct contact with the wire, resulting in a severe electric shock. Locals immediately rushed him to the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation Hospital, where doctors said he has sustained 60–70 burn injuries.
Witnesses stated that the local electricity department promptly cut off power supply, preventing a fatal outcome, but Waghmare’s condition remains critical.
Following the incident, angry locals blamed the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) for negligence and demanded strict action against the officials and contractors responsible for it.
Senior Inspector Sujit Pawar said, “The incident has been reported to us but we have not yet received MLC.”
The police have initiated an investigation into the matter.
