The Madras High Court on Friday ordered payment of Rs 10 lakh each to the families to two girls electrocuted in the state capital.
Bhavana and Yuvashri, aged ten and eight respectively, died on November 1 when they stepped on a power cable submerged in water in the Kodungaiyur locality.
The High Court ordered the Tamil Nadu government to pay compensation after it took suo motu notice on Thursday when a lawyer made an urgent mention of the matter.
The government told the court that the electricity supply utility had already given Rs 2 lakh each as compensation while Chief Minister K Palaniswami had announced Rs 3 lakh each to the families.
On Wednesday, two young girls were killed by electrocution after they stepped on a live wire that had fallen out from a junction box in Kodungaiyur in Chennai.
The deceased girls were residents of RR Nagar in Kodungaiyur.
With their schools declared closed on Wednesday, Bhavana and Yuvashree, who were siblings, were playing on the street on Wednesday morning along with another child. As the street was waterlogged due to heavy rains over the last two days, the children did not see the wires fallen on the road.
Both the girls stepped on the wire and were electrocuted. The two children were rushed to Stanley hospital but were declared brought dead.
“The incident happened at around 1.30pm. The children died immediately after being electrocuted. The locals of the area started protesting against the electricity department, but we convinced them (to stop the protest) and promised that action will be taken. We called the engineers of the TNEB (Tamil Nadu Electricity Board) to fix the wires, which had fallen out of the junction box,” Pugazhendi, Inspector of Kodungaiyur police station, told TNM.
Soon after the incident, Electricity Minister P Thangamani announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the family of the two girls. Three officials of the TNEB were also suspended, with the Minister saying that more suspensions will follow.
(With IANS inputs)