Knotty Affair: Black cables overshadow beauty of historical places

Manmeet Singh Gill

Amritsar, July 22

Loose dangling cables tied to street light and electricity poles in the old city areas that include Karmon Deodhi and Katra Khanahiya give a bad feeling, especially if one is aware of the historical importance of these places.

Take the example of Karmon Deodhi, where an ugly looking electricity transformer with hundreds of black cables surrounding it has been installed. The place is named after Mai Karmon, a revenue officer close to Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s mother-in-law Sada Kaur.

In December 1838, the Deodhi was demolished on orders of the Maharaja himself as the then Governor General of the British India (1836-1842) Lord Auckland had to visit the Golden Temple on December 11. But the low height of the structure was a hindrance for the elephant on which Auckland was sitting.

Interestingly, it has also been stated that the Maharaja wanted his mother-in-law to know her place as their relations had started straining.

A local resident Kulrattan Singh said, “The black cables have overshadowed the beauty of our heritage, architectural style and everything else in these parts of the city.”

“Everywhere you see is a dangling bunch of black cables,” he said while adding that there were numerous spots which could be designated and beautified as tourist places.

In Katra Khanahiya too one can see hundreds of cables belonging to private Internet companies, telecom service and cable television network providers tied to poles. The cables crisscrossing over streets make a canopy of a sort.

“One cannot look at the sky without sight of ugly looking black cables,” rued another resident Prashant Kumar. He said the Municipal Corporation must instruct all private companies to remove their overhead wires and lay these underground. He said even electricity transmission system should be improved as cobwebs of wires can be seen on every pole in the city.