Cable Mess-II: Cobweb of wires in old city markets in Ludhiana an open invitation to fire mishaps

Shopkeepers blame PSPCL for taking danger posed by dangling wires lightly

Web of wires at Hindi Bazar; and a resident shows a bundle of cables at Nalka Wali Gali in Ludhiana. Tribune Photos: Himanshu Mahajan

Tribune News Service

Harshraj Singh

Ludhiana, December 7

Learning no lesson from the past fire incidents due to short-circuits, no concrete steps have been taken by the departments concerned to fix the issue of messy cables of electricity, internet, and TV network in the markets located in old city areas so far.

The overhead web of electricity and other cables are giving an open invitation to the fire mishaps at Dal Bazar, Sarafa Bazar, Chawal Bazar, Akalgarh Market, Hindi Bazar, Gur Mandi, Pansari Bazar, Nalka Wali Gali, Meena Bazar, etc markets. Also, the fire tenders can’t even enter most of the narrow streets of these areas.

A group of shopkeepers said the fire incidents due to sparking in electricity wires had taken place at Dal Bazar, Akalgarh Market, Meena Bazar, Hindi Bazar, and nearby congested markets in the past too. They said that the repeated complaints to Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to fix the dangling cables fell on deaf ears. Due to the low height of electricity wires with naked joints, the chances of electrocution remain high.

Sharing his concern over the tangled mess of wires outside his shop at Meena Bazar Chowk, Kasturi Lal said two fire incidents have occurred due to short-circuits in his neighbourhood but no safety measures have been taken so far by the department concerned to avert such mishaps in future.

The situation of nearby Pansari Bazar is similar. The traders were disappointed due to the apathy of PSPCL and other government departments concerned for continuously ignoring the issue of messy cables. It is difficult to pass through the Nalka Wali Gali at Pansari Bazar as this street is flooded with overhead wires. It is even difficult to identify which one is electricity, TV network, or Internet cable.

Sunil Jindal at Nalka Wali Gali said, “We have made several complaints about the dangling wires but our voice is not being heard. PSPCL officials visited here many times but no solution has been found. The wires have tilted some poles too.”

He said, “Earlier, there was a mess of only dangling electricity wires that was never fixed to date. Now, bunches of broadband and TV network cables have worsened the situation. The government must take requisite measures to avert the fire mishaps.”

Ward 60 councillor Anil Parti said the fire incidents due to dangling wires had occurred at Hindi Bazaar and other nearby markets but the departments concerned failed to do the needful for the safety of people here. There is a dire need to get the issue of these cables fixed at the earliest, he added.

PS Khamba, Chief Engineer, PSPCL (Central Zone), Ludhiana, could not be contacted for his comments. Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO said requisite measures would be taken to fix the issue of dangling wires in the city.

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