Knotty affair: Tilted poles, overhead dangling cables deface Sultanwind village

Manmeet Singh Gill

Amritsar, July 18

The dangling cables installed by private companies along with electricity transmission lines of the power corporation are distorting the beauty of Kot Baba Deep Singh in the Sultanwind area.

Sultanwind is one of the oldest villages which have become a part of the city. Mohan Singh of Amritsar Vikas Manch, who lives in the area, said, “A majority of electricity and streetlight poles here are tilted. Though the tilted poles do not affect electricity transmission in any way, they do not look good.”

Mohan Singh recalled that in 1948, when electricity supply was first given to the village, the engineers had laid emphasis on all poles being of the same height and perpendicular to the ground. Presently, electricity poles of varying heights can be seen in the area.

“Those were the times when an inspector from the Electricity Department visited homes and ascertained that the wiring in the house is installed as per specifications. An electricity connection was given only after he issued a certificate,” he said.

The misuse of electricity and street lights poles by private Internet companies, telecom and cable television network providers has created a mesh of cables over the streets. Even the electricity transmission lines have been installed in a haphazard manner.

Another resident Sukhdev Singh said, “The government should not allow overhead wires, be it of Electricity Department or private companies.” In most world class cities, all cables are laid underground. This is the reason why streets in these cities look beautiful.

The residents demanded that the local administration too should wake up to the problem and start taking steps to improve the situation. “If private companies continue to install cables at this speed, in a few years, the wires would cover the whole skyline in the residential and commercial areas,” said another resident.

The residents rued that pillar boxes installed in streets were also a cause of inconvenience to commuters. They said these large boxes had eaten up the space meant for the smooth flow of the traffic.