Lack of law keeps cables dangling

CHENNAI: No topic on which highway you're — be it in T Nagar, Anna Nagar, Triplicane, or Alwarpet —it's impossible to leave out the cables dangling along the street. Not most effective do they deface town but additionally pose a threat to commuters and birds. Lack of coverage on penalizing the violators is one of the major causes for the risk. Even corporation officers say they have the ability most effective to remove the cables. “There isn't any legislation to penalize the violators or issue notices to them,” said an legitimate in the electricals department of the corporation.

Assistant divisional engineers are instructed to remove undesirable cables day-to-day. “They transparent it periodically with the help of local optic fibre cable operators. The officers additionally bundle the cables on the poles to verify they don't grasp, thereby posing a threat to other folks,” said M Govinda Rao, deputy commissioner, Works.

To curb the risk, the civic body had greater the yearly track rate to lay overhead cables in July 2018. The corporation has greater the rates from Rs 43,191 to Rs 47,510 a kilometre. On the other hand, the velocity for laying underground cables remained at Rs nine,400 a kilometre to verify more other folks opted for it. But it has no longer deterred the cable operators and other telecom corporations that continue to erect cables illegally around the city.

So a ways, the civic body has snapped and collected cables which might be about 200km lengthy. “Every day, wires so long as 10km are snapped and brought to godowns. With more than 2.7 lakh street lighting fixtures around the city and 4000km-long cables, it's impossible for a short-staffed department to eliminate the risk,” said an legitimate. These cables are saved at the ward places of work and auctioned.

The civic body has given licences to about 20 telecommunication and web corporations to erect such cables. “But cable television operators are major violators who neither take permission nor pay any licence fees,” said an legitimate.

Jayaram Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam said, “There should be a framework and regulations should be made to penalize violators. The civic body cannot stay slicing cables all the time as it would no longer deter the violators. Instead, we should arrange infrastructure to house cables to verify such illegality is got rid of. Lack of planning is a big issue.”