Knotty Affair: Cable cos causing problems to Mohini Park area residents in Amritsar

Manmeet Gill

Amritsar, June 20

Electricity, internet and telecom cables close to the roofs of houses in Mohini Park area near Khalsa College are a constant threat to the lives of residents. Residents complain that even as the power corporation had installed new pillar boxes for electricity meters, it failed to fix the mess caused by transmission lines.

“The electricity poles are erected close to the walls of the houses. With the private companies too using these poles for their cables, every pole has hundreds of wires attached to it,” said Kulwinder Sharma, a local resident. He said that people have complained to the power corporation on many occasions and that the corporation should own responsibility for misuse of their poles by private companies.

Residents complained that they do not let their children play on the roof as the electricity poles are too close to the houses. “A person can easily touch the wires if he or she is a little careless. It would be better if the electricity transmission system is made underground,” said another resident, Monica Sharma.

The way private companies do not bother to seek permission from the municipal corporation or any other other department before laying their cables has only worsened the situation. “All a person has to do to make a phone call is to get an internet connection. Even if the service is not available in the area, the employees of the company would set up a new cable within hours,” said another resident, quipping that the ease of doing business is astonishing.

Municipal Commissioner Sandeep Rishi said that the local body would come up with a concrete plan to deal with the issue. He said that deliberations are on to come up with an action plan and that steps would be initiated soon to deal with the problem.