Beyond short circuit: Potential fire accidents lurk behind old and overloaded electric wires in Telangana’s building

Key points

• As Telangana witnesses a string of devastating fires attributed to “short circuits”, officials and electrical experts say the term often masks a far deeper problem — ageing wiring, overloaded electrical systems, substandard materials and years of neglected maintenance quietly building up behind walls before disaster strikes.
• The issue has come into focus following several recent incidents, including the house fire in Miryalguda that triggered a cylinder blast and claimed three lives;
• a blaze at a helmet shop in Ameerpet and a fatal fire at a residential complex in TNGOs Colony, Gachibowli.
• According to the Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), of the 5,971 fire accidents in the country in 2024, electrical short circuits accounted for 1,042 incidents.
• The fires claimed 1,012 lives and left 52 people injured.