Knotty affair: Poles, trees & walls no exception as cables crisscross Krishna Nagar

Amritsar, August 1

The misuse of electricity and streetlight poles by private internet companies, telecom and cable network providers has become a bane for the residents of Krishna Nagar and Krishna Square on Batala road as residents complain of hundreds of loose wires hanging over the streets and outside their homes.

The misuse of public infrastructure by the private companies has been rampant for many years as the local authorities are yet to become sensitive towards the problem. Residents complained that the black cables that criss-cross the streets are an eyesore and should be removed.

Apart from the electricity and streetlight poles, the private companies are even using trees and walls of the buildings to tie their cables. “The cables have been tied in a very casual way. No efforts have been made to tie them in a proper manner. Even the rolls of excess cables are left to hang alongside the poles,” complained a resident Sukhbir Singh. He said that even the electricity transmission cables should be put up in a proper manner.

Another resident Naresh Sharma said, “Ideally, all these cables should be laid underground but the way things are done here by the Local Bodies Department, it is too much to ask for. So at least the private companies should be asked to lay their cables underground as that way, the Municipal Corporation would be spared the use of much of its resources.”

The residents also stated that it is time the MC wakes up to the problem as more and more cables are getting added to the existing cobwebs with each passing day. Hundreds of black cables tied to each of the poles in the area are also a problem for the residents. They stated that most of these cables are illegal as no permission has been taken from the MC before using the poles in the street.