Kochi Corporation to launch drive to remove low-hanging overhead cables
Cost to be recovered from respective cable owners
The Kochi Corporation plans to initiate a drive to remove low-hanging overhead cables from various parts of the city, with the cost of removal to be recovered from the cable owners. This move follows repeated directives from the Kerala High Court to identify and eliminate dangerous, untagged overhead internet and cable television wires that have caused accidents, resulting in fatalities.
Despite several drives by the Corporation and the Kerala State Electricity Board Limited (KSEBL), the issue persists as cables are frequently replaced with newer technology rather than removed.
The Town Planning Committee has been instructed to commence the drive at the earliest, with the Town Planning Committee chairperson, P.M. Naseema, confirming that the drive will resume soon after a temporary suspension during the football World Cup. Zonal-level meetings will be held to address the maintenance of cables and their removal where necessary.
However, there is a concern that the authorities have not implemented a permanent solution. According to E. Jayadevan, president of the Kerala Cable Television Federation, most of the cables being removed are outdated, and many companies opt to draw new cables instead of addressing existing complaints. He suggested that KSEBL should introduce clamp systems on electric poles, require proper tagging for all cables, and promote a universal duct system to eventually phase out overhead cables.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
