The Kochi Corporation is set to launch a drive to remove low-hanging cables across various stretches of the city, with the cost to be recovered from the respective cable owners.

The Kerala High Court has repeatedly directed the Corporation and the Kerala State Electricity Board Limited (KSEBL) to identify and remove dangerous, low-hanging, and untagged overhead internet and cable television wires after they were found to cause accidents, including fatalities. Such cables continue to dot many prominent roads in the city.

“The Town Planning Committee has been asked to initiate the drive at the earliest to remove such cables and to collect expenses from the operators concerned, as directed by the auditors. The agency permitted to install master boards in the city has also been tasked with removing illegal advertisement boards and maintaining cables along stretches where they manage master boards,” said Mayor V.K. Minimol.

She noted that only three companies have obtained permits from the Corporation for drawing overhead cables. However, several other players continue to draw cables through electricity poles by paying fees solely to KSEBL, Ms. Minimol added.

P.M. Naseema, chairperson of the Town Planning Committee, said the drive temporarily suspended during the football World Cup will be resumed shortly. “Zonal-level meetings will be held with the participation of division councillors concerned to restore order in the maintenance of overhead cables and cut them where necessary,” she said.

While the Corporation and KSEBL undertake periodic drives to restore order, the situation invariably slips back into messy disorder soon after.

Operators call for clamp system

E. Jayadevan, president of the Kerala Cable Television Federation, observed that a majority of the cables left behind are no longer in use, as major operators often prefer to draw fresh cables rather than identify and rectify complaints. Moreover, companies shifting to newer technologies seldom bother to remove the redundant cables they have already laid.

“The problem is that authorities have never thought of a permanent solution. KSEBL should introduce a clamp system on their electric poles and make it mandatory for all cables to be drawn through it and properly tagged. All other cables should be removed. A duct system should also be made universal, doing away with overhead cables altogether,” Mr. Jayadevan said.