‘Remove cables drawn from KMC lightposts sans consent’

kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is learnt to have written to the multi-national company, Reliance, asking it to remove all new overhead optical-fibre cables it has allegedly drawn using lampposts of the civic body without permission while seeking reports from councillors on lampposts in their wards which stand at a precarious position.

Lately, the civic body has been going hammer and tongs at cable operators, asking them to shift all their overhead wires underground to free the city from a clutter of wires. Such a move comes in the wake of complaints from citizens concerning how cable operators are pulling overhead wires at random, often leading to accidents.

A senior KMC official said that presently the civic body has stopped giving permission for drawing new wires using the KMC light posts. Overhead cables in at least 40 roads in the city are being shifted underground, where they will be passed through cable ducts. However, amid this, the civic body is learnt to have received complaints that the multi-national company Reliance has been drawing optical-fibre cables using KMC lampposts without allegedly taking permission from the civic body.

KMC sources said that a letter is being dispatched to the company asking it pull down all the new overhead cables which it has drawn using KMC light posts.

The KMC also asked the company to gradually shift their older cables underground. Further, a meeting is also scheduled to take place with the representatives of the company. “If it is not pulled down despite our warnings, then KMC will be forced to take strict action,” said the source who is placed at a high level in KMC and is involved in the decision-making process concerning the lighting department.

Mayor Firhad Hakim recently said that the representatives of the private company were earlier warned against this and that they had agreed to shift the cable lines underground.

Meanwhile, there are several light posts in the city which stand in a precarious position posing a risk of collapse. On Wednesday night, one such light post collapsed between ChinaTown and Topsia on Park Circus Connector, according to an eyewitness who was passing through on his motorcycle.

Commenting on whether KMC is taking steps to fix such lampposts, member mayor in council (MMIC) of Lighting and Electricity department, Sandip Ranjan Bakshi said that councillors have been asked to identify such posts in their wards and inform the borough engineers so they could take steps to get it fixed.