The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Dangling cable wires threaten motorists

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Friday, Mar 28, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Dangling cable wires threaten motorists

APCPDCL fails to charge cable, Internet providers for using poles

— Photo : Satish H.

Death trap: Cable wires carelessly dumped on the roadside at Masab Tank were caught in the wheels of a motorcycle.

HYDERABAD: There’s no hope of deliverance, in the near future, from the dangers of dangling cable wires on electricity poles. The veritable death traps continue to threaten commuters, as authorities have failed to solve this pesky problem despite grappling with the issue for three-years.

While the issue has been put in cold storage, scenes of cable wires entangling riders’ necks and into the wheels of their vehicles leading to accidents, often fatal, is being played out with alarming regularity. Almost all city roads are infested with overhanging cables with little ‘official action’ in sight.

The Andhra Pradesh Central Distribution Company Limited (APCPDCL), who made an attempt to solve the issue by meeting cable and Internet operators, has not been able to come up with a fool-proof solution. It planned to collect ‘fee’ from cable and Internet providers for using poles but failed.

Wires left in the open

“I was lucky to escape unhurt when wires got entangled in my bike. The cable wires are just lying around. During nights, it’s impossible to drive without getting hurt. They have dug up the road to widen it and left the cable lines out in the open,” says T. Ravi Kishore a commuter at Masab Tank. APCPDCL had formed a team, which conducted studies on similar situations prevalent in metros like Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai. The report recommended collecting fee of Rs. 50 per pole per annum from cable and Internet service providers. Collecting fee means justifying or legalising the use of electricity poles.

This was not acceptable to authorities. “There’s no clarity on the subject. We had sent the report to higher-ups and since then there has been no decision yet,” points out AD (Purchase) APCPDCL T. Venkateshwara Rao.

“There is no further development on this issue. A committee will be formed under Transco CMD to look into the issue freshly,” says CGM, Metro zone, D. Victoria Krupa Danamma.

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