The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) in Rangoon’s Tamwe Township is launching a programme to clear up the mesh of power lines and electrical wires that dangle from power poles across the streets and pavements of the former Burmese capital.

The move follows a chain of fatal incidents around the country, including the electrocution of a seven-year-old girl in Magwe earlier this week.

In a pilot project last week, the ESB cleared wire balls from the tops of power poles on Thida Street in Kyaukmyaung ward in Rangoon.

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Speaking to DVB TV, the department’s deputy-director Kyaw San said, “First we need to estimate the budget required for the work. Then request the government to pay for it. If they can’t, then we will explore possibilities of communities doing the work on a self-help basis. So, actually, it comes down to the budget.”

Thida Street resident Thein Win said, “The mass [of power cables] that was there has now been cleared up. So everyone here is happy about that because it was very dangerous. It looked like the poles had massive cobwebs.”