U-Turn under pressure: CESC caves to Mamata's demand, announces 5 Lakh aid for electrocution victims' families

In the wake of a devastating downpour that turned Kolkata into a watery graveyard on September 23, claiming a total 10 lives through electrocution amid knee-deep floods, CESC Limited has made a swift about-face, announces Rs 5 lakh compensation each to the victims' families—just eight hours after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee publicly lambasted the utility for its "negligence." The torrential rains, dumping nearly over 250 mm in a single night—the heaviest in four decades—paralyzed the city, submerging streets and exposing glaring infrastructural lapses. Banerjee, while inaugurating Durga Puja pandals didn't mince words, pinning the blame squarely on CESC for failing to secure live wires and urging them to match her government's Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia plus job offers for bereaved kin. By Thursday afternoon, under mounting pressure including a Calcutta High Court directive for a detailed report, CESC's Executive Director (Distribution) Abhijit Ghosh confirmed the payout, signaling a rare capitulation in the escalating blame game that has overshadowed Puja preparations.The tragedy unfolded in the pre-dawn hours as relentless monsoon fury caught residents off-guard.

From central Kolkata's bustling lanes to the southern suburbs of Bishnupur and Narendrapur, eight people met untimely ends while wading through accumulated water to reach workplaces—shocked fatally by exposed electrical hazards. Two more youths succumbed in similar circumstances, pushing the toll to 10. Eyewitness accounts painted a grim picture: families mourning breadwinners who simply stepped out for daily chores, only to encounter live cables dangling perilously low or submerged distribution boxes spewing danger. Banerjee, addressing the crisis head-on, declared, "Electricity is their domain; they profit here but refuse to modernize," while vowing state intervention to employ one family member per victim as a "special home guard" if CESC dragged its feet. Her Wednesday plea for Rs 5 lakh from the company resonated politically, with opposition BJP amplifying calls for accountability amid the festive fervor.CESC's initial response was a staunch denial, with Ghosh asserting on Tuesday that investigations revealed five deaths stemmed from internal home or factory wiring faults, two from pole contacts, and one near a traffic kiosk—none attributable to their "open wire" negligence, as alleged.

"No exposed lines were left unattended," he insisted, shifting focus to individual lapses rather than systemic failures. This stance drew immediate fire from Banerjee, who had pre-empted such excuses by warning utilities to deploy emergency staff proactively. The CM's rhetoric escalated the narrative, portraying CESC—owned by industrialist Sanjiv Goenka—as a profit-driven entity indifferent to public safety, especially with dredging delays at key sites like Kolkata Port and Farakka Barrage exacerbating the floods from upstream states.The turnaround came abruptly Thursday, hours after a High Court bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Apurba Singh Roy summoned reports from CESC, the state, and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on drainage woes and electrocution safeguards. Ghosh, in a terse statement, credited Banerjee's "message" for the decision: "Post the Chief Minister's directive, we've resolved to extend Rs 5 lakh per family."

While the announcement omitted job assurances—despite Banerjee's dual demand—it marked a pragmatic retreat, potentially averting further judicial scrutiny. Lawyers' unions and civic activists, who petitioned the court citing "unlearned lessons" from past monsoons, hailed it as a win for public pressure, though questions linger on enforcement timelines.This episode underscores deeper fissures in Kolkata's urban resilience, where climate whims collide with aging infrastructure. The court has mandated affidavits on unauthorized constructions near waterways and KMC's drainage upgrades, with hearings slated for November 7. Banerjee, resuming her Puja inaugurations after a rain-induced pause, blended condolence with critique: "Nature's fury is beyond us, but human negligence isn't." Her government's Rs 2 lakh plus employment pledge—totaling over Rs 20 lakh and 10 jobs—aims to cushion the blow, yet families like those in flood-ravaged Salt Lake and Gariahat grapple with irreplaceable voids. CESC's compliance, while welcome, fuels speculation:

As Kolkata shakes off the deluge— with waters receding but scars fresh—the spotlight shifts to prevention. For the 10 families, the payouts offer financial lifelines, but justice demands more: robust wires, vigilant patrols, and a city that doesn't drown its own. In the shadow of Durga's homecoming, Banerjee's intervention has forced a corporate mea culpa, reminding all that in Bengal's monsoons, accountability flows as swiftly as the floods—or it should.