Cables being laid in Shimla haphazardly, alleges councillor

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Shimla, January 25

Shimla is rapidly getting entangled in the mesh of telecom cables. From one end of the city to another, the overhead network of telecom cables is getting denser and clumsier by the day. Besides making the Smart City look clumsy, it also raises some safety concerns.

“These cables are being laid haphazardly. At many places these cables are hanging so loosely that a person can easily get entangled,” said Vivek Sharma, a councillor from Totu ward. “There’s a danger of even the vehicles, especially the two wheeler drivers, getting caught in these cables. The authorities concerned need to ensure these cables are laid properly, keeping in mind the safety of people,” said Sharma.

Rakesh Sharma, a councillor from Panthaghati ward, feels clumsy overhead network of the cables is a blot on the beauty of Shimla. “When Shimla came under Smart City Mission, there was a talk of underground ducting of all these cables. On the contrary, these overhead cables are increasing at a rapid pace,” said Sharma.

Sharma also suggested that if the spread of this network can’t be controlled, the MC can at least demand a certain amount from these telecom companies. “The telecom companies are either using electricity poles or erecting their own poles for laying the cables. Since MC is the owner of land where majority of these poles are standing in the city, it should get some share from the income telecom companies are making,” said Sharma.

Even as telecom companies are busy laying more and more cable in the city, some areas of the city are complaining lack of network over the past some time. “In my ward, the network issue has become very serious. People are not able to make calls, the Internet is very slow or totally down most of the time,” said Diwakar Sharma, a councillor from Majaith ward.

“Students and those working from home are facing a lot of problems due to network issues. We had apprised the telecom companies of the issue and the Mayor has also brought the problem to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner. Nevertheless, the problem continues to persist,” said Sharma.

More overhead wires

When Shimla came under Smart City Mission, there was a talk of underground ducting of all these cables. On the contrary, these overhead cables are increasing at a rapid pace. — A councillor