E-Paper
Unauthorised cables: A maze of unsightly, overhead danger
Unauthorised fibre-optic cables are a common sight on Lucknow Electricity Supply Administration’s (LESA) electricity and street-light poles
Unauthorised fibre-optic cables are a common sight on Lucknow Electricity Supply Administration’s (LESA) electricity and street-light poles. Several residential and commercial areas continue to see lines of wires on these poles which besides endangering the lives of road users also detract from the city’s aesthetics.
Residents of several areas blame these optic fibres as one of the reasons for fires and other related incidents. Most of the areas in the city including La Touche Road, Aliganj, Jankipuram, Charbagh, Aminabad, Naka Hindola and others have the majority of these wires tied to electric poles erected on the road dividers.
Vivek Sharma, an RTI activist and vice-president of Residents’ Welfare Association, Lucknow, has written a letter to the chief minister and the energy minister through IGRS (Integrated Grievance Redressal System) on Jansunwai-Samadhan portal of the government. In his letter, he has informed that a network of internet cables has been spread by private mobile operators all over the city, blaming the officers of the department concerned for overlooking the matter.
He has also asked officials to inspect the Mahmudabad highway, Tedhi Pulia intersection and multi-storey buildings like Srishti Apartments, Smriti Apartments, Sargam Apartments on Kursi Road.
“A complaint letter has been sent in this regard to the municipal commissioner through IGRS and to the district magistrate and deputy chairman of Lucknow Development Authority through email, but till date those letters have not been answered,” he added.
Replying to Sharma’s IGRS, AK Kaushal, executive engineer, LESA, the state electricity department, Rahim Nagar, has acknowledged private companies, local cable and Wi-Fi operators illegally using electric poles in Jankipuram and nearby areas. “The poles in various areas of the city are being identified and a drive against illegal and unauthorised use of the poles for optic/cable wires in the city is in the process and the action will be taken against those involved,” said the letter.
Residents speak against cable maze
Yogendra Mishra
“There are several private wi-fi companies and cable operators with wires attached to the same pole. When there is damage, they add another wire and leave the previous one in place, which piles up and occasionally breaks, becoming the cause of a mishap.”
Roop Kumar Sharma
“This cable and wi-fi wires often break and fall in the middle of the road and dividers. A lot of people riding motorcycles have met with accidents due to this. Sometimes, it is also difficult to identify if these are electric wires. The condition is all over Gomti Nagar. It should be underground and these illegal wiring should be stopped and action should be taken against them.
