In Thailand, the use of bamboo ladders for repairs on chaotic overhead power lines is still a regular sight. Both in urban and rural areas, maintenance utility staff are frequently seen balancing on long, flexible ladders to reach cables and equipment, often wearing unsuitable footwear or clothing and with limited safety measures in place for themselves or pedestrians.
A correspondent, in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, has sent us numerous pictures taken on at least two separate occasions in the space of a few days. In one instance, two men wearing high-vis vests use a bamboo ladder to reach a tangled cluster of wires, with the ladder standing in the street where traffic passes close by, and pedestrians walk below. While they had cones with them, they were not in use, but the lower legs of the ladders are painted with warning colours. As to the power lines being live or not - who knows?
Who needs cones when you have painted legs
Figure that lot out!
On another day, a man in flip-flops was working alone, but had placed a single traffic cone at the base of his ladder, showing how laid back site safety can be - even in a country that’s otherwise modern and prosperous.
A cone is present but?
There is, however, something to be said for Thai resourcefulness, bamboo is a fast growing, abundant local material and reflects a practical approach that has been passed down through generations. Its use is deeply rooted in tradition and, given its accessibility and cost-effectiveness, is likely to remain in use for many years to come.
Still hard not to put this into our Death Wish series.
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