Published On : Wed, Feb 28th, 2018

A man almost loses his foot – Net connection Vodafone style!!!

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Nagpur: The Akotkar family lives on the third and top floor of ‘Akash palace’ a commercial cum residential building in Abhyankar Nagar. This area is seeing a lot of ‘Vikas’ with new constructions coming up and hectic building activities going on.

Two days ago, some young ‘Vodafone’ workers knocked on Akotkar’s doors asking permission to take their internet wire through their terrace on to the shop on the ground floor. The family’s first instinct was to say a polite ‘no’ but since the shop keeper requested them to co operate they put the condition that the cable wires should just go from the parapet wall and not intrude into their terrace space.

Now just above the Akotkar’s terrace is a small mini floor holding the water tank for the building. The builder had built a fancy wall topped with railing round the tank.

When the Vodafone guys actually got to work Vijaya Akotkar and her husband Advocate Wamanrao Akotkar were somewhat shocked at their modus operandi.

They flung and rope tied to the cable from 5-6 buildings away onto the floor having water tank – which is just above Akotkar’s house. They entwined the rope round the fragile tank railing and 4 young and hefty men began pulling the rope, tied with cable across the aerial space… even across the road.

“Careful!” instructed Wamanrao ” that wall is delicate” but before he could complete his sentence, the wall had cracked. They shooed the guys away and asked them to return later in the evening, after the family had returned from a wedding, with a better and safer plan.


The guys came back at 4 p.m. and continued doing exactly what they had been doing in the morning. Advocate Akotkar then went to tank side to point out how the parapet wall was already damaged.

He just touched the wall when it collapsed entirely – right on to his foot! He felt a sharp pain and then blood began gushing from this foot like a major blood vessel had been ruptured.

“We tied four of my duppatas round his foot but still bleeding wouldn’t stop. We immediately rushed him to Dr. Mohan Joshi’s clinic where he had to be administered 11 stiches to close the deep wound.


My husband is diabetic and this wound to his foot, if it does not heal, could cause amputation as well warned the Doctor” says a shaken Vijaya.

The unbelievable thing is that though the on the ground Vodafone guys have been helpful and deeply apologetic the Vodafone management, in Nagpur or Pune, has shown no reaction.

They have not offered to pay the medical bill nor any compensation.

“My father is an independent lawyer and this wound means he cannot attend court for 2 months at least. Imagine the loss of livelihood to my parents” says their son Akshay. He lives in Mumbai due to his job.

After waiting for Vodafone bosses to show some responsibility, finally the family has lodged a complaint against the company in the Bajaj Nagar police station.