With a view to foster safety-first culture in the power sector, and in line with the Government’s emphasis on conducting employee training in a structured and regular manner, the Electrical Inspectorate of the Power Development Department (PDD) has launched massive parallel training sessions across all districts of J&K.

The training programs are carefully structured so that each district is covered, ensuring that all linemen and contract workers engaged on the electrical system are trained with the basic safety practices, during this first phase.

This initiative marks a significant step toward institutionalized capacity building, aimed at improving operational efficiency and prioritizing safety, aligning with the department’s future plan of establishing dedicated Power Training Institute for all power employees across J&K.

The said training sessions, which commenced last month, are currently in progress and so far, 780 linemen have been trained through a combination of theoretical sessions and hands-on demonstrations, with a special focus on use of safety gears and other essential workplace precautions. These sessions have so far been conducted in the districts of Budgam, Srinagar, Pulwama, Shopian, Bandipora, Jammu, Kathua, while the remaining districts are scheduled for the coming weeks.

Considering human safety a top priority, line staff have also been instructed to raise awareness among the general public regarding electrical hazards—particularly those arising from weather vagaries such as snapped wires or infrastructure damage caused by flash floods. A general safety advisory, along with detailed Do’s and Don’ts, has been clearly communicated during the training to ensure electrical safety not only for humans but also for animals across the UT.

The entire schedule has been prepared under the guidance of Principal Secretary, PDD, H. Rajesh Prasad, who reiterated that human safety must always remain a top priority. He firmly underscored the importance of adhering strictly to SOPs, with no tolerance for shortcuts during work execution. He further stated that regular monthly reviews on safety compliance will be conducted by each corporations and detailed reports in this regard will be submitted to the department for monitoring purpose.

Highlighting the challenges faced by linemen in J&K, he mentioned that these linemen operate in challenging environments, including harsh weather conditions, snow-bound areas, and tough mountainous terrains often during emergencies and time-constrained situations. The recent restoration of power in record time during the incessant rains in Jammu stands as a testament to their commitment and resilience. Such a dedicated workforce must be provided with specialized trainings and adequate facilities to enable expeditious restoration of the system in difficult terrains while ensuring that their safety remains uncompromised.

The training sessions were organized and conducted by officers of the Electrical Inspectorate. The master trainers for the training sessions were Er. Anil Abrol in Jammu, and Er. Manzoor Ahmad& Er. Adil Bashir in Kashmir—all three from the Electrical Inspectorate J&K. Additionally, Er. Gulshan Bhagat, Er. Sanjeev Pathania, Er. Navneet Singh Raina, Er. Mudasar Amin Tibet, Er. Sajad Tariq, Er. Sandeep Kohli, Er. Divya Gupta, along with other officers, officials, and supporting staff of the Inspectorate, actively participated in conducting the proceedings.

The Chief Electrical Inspector, Sanjay Sharma, in his opening remarks during the session, stressed the critical importance of electrical safety both in execution of works as well as in managing day to day operations. He further highlighted that power sector of J&K is currently undergoing complete transformation with conventional systems rapidly being replaced with modern technologies to ensure better service delivery to the consumers.

He also informed that the Electrical Inspectorate of PDD has been entrusted with the responsibility of organizing regular training programs and workshops to upgrade skill of power employees for improving the overall efficiency of the department.He added that in this regard, an annual training calendar has been prepared and MoUs have also been signed with reputed national-level power training institutions to adopt a collaborative approach in imparting trainings by inviting the best experts from across  the country to J&K.

Every effort is being made to make the training programs interactive, ensuring that feedback from departmental personnel is incorporated into future sessions.

To motivate consistent adherence to safety standards, it was announced that the best linemen who diligently follow safety practices in the field would be formally recognized and felicitated, thereby promoting a culture of safety consciousness across the region.

The main topics covered in the sessions were general safety practices in electrical works, existing Standard Operating Procedures, accident prevention measures, guarding and clearances, safe handling of electric supply lines and apparatus, earthing methods, CPR procedures during electrical emergencies, and the use of workman safety devices and appliances.