<p>Bescom's deadline to remove optic fiber cables (OFCs) may have ended, but the wires continue to dangle dangerously across the city as death traps.</p>.<p>Back-to-back fatalities had prompted Bescom to set a seven-day deadline for all internet service providers (ISPs) to remove OFCs strung illegally to electrical poles. Senior Bescom officials said that not many companies have bothered to remove the cables despite the deadline passing.</p>.At 2,840 a year, Bengaluru drunk driving cases under check.<p>“They are removed only in a few places,” a senior official said. “Since the deadline has passed, we have to take action to remove them.”</p>.<p>Bescom sources said that removing the cables may not be of much use since they are put back in a few hours.</p>.<p>For instance, Bescom had removed the dangerously hanging cables on the SG Palya stretch, where a 21-year-old Christ University student was crushed under a pole yanked down by illegal OFCs. But the cables were back the very next day, the Bescom engineer from the division said.</p>.<p>“This time, they had looped the cables through the buildings. Since they are not attached to our poles, we cannot take action. The BBMP should look into it,” the engineer said.</p>.<p>The civic body, on the other hand, is yet to devise a strategy to rid the streets of the illegal cables as they are awaiting the companies to respond. This, despite the Deputy Chief Minister asking for a status report.</p>.<p>“In the meantime, we are removing the illegal cables,” BBMP Special Commissioner Dr Trilok Chandra said, stating that they have also stopped giving them permission to lay new cables.</p>.<p>BBMP sources admitted that none of the officials is monitoring the removal of the cables. “We must constantly check for those illegally laying cables,” said a BBMP South Zone official. “It is not easy to check daily, given the (paucity of) manpower.”</p>.<p><strong>Bescom to approach energy minister</strong></p>.<p>On the realisation that merely removing cables will not serve the purpose, Bescom officials have decided to survey all the illegal cables and submit a report to Energy Minister KJ George for further intervention.</p>
<p>Bescom's deadline to remove optic fiber cables (OFCs) may have ended, but the wires continue to dangle dangerously across the city as death traps.</p>.<p>Back-to-back fatalities had prompted Bescom to set a seven-day deadline for all internet service providers (ISPs) to remove OFCs strung illegally to electrical poles. Senior Bescom officials said that not many companies have bothered to remove the cables despite the deadline passing.</p>.At 2,840 a year, Bengaluru drunk driving cases under check.<p>“They are removed only in a few places,” a senior official said. “Since the deadline has passed, we have to take action to remove them.”</p>.<p>Bescom sources said that removing the cables may not be of much use since they are put back in a few hours.</p>.<p>For instance, Bescom had removed the dangerously hanging cables on the SG Palya stretch, where a 21-year-old Christ University student was crushed under a pole yanked down by illegal OFCs. But the cables were back the very next day, the Bescom engineer from the division said.</p>.<p>“This time, they had looped the cables through the buildings. Since they are not attached to our poles, we cannot take action. The BBMP should look into it,” the engineer said.</p>.<p>The civic body, on the other hand, is yet to devise a strategy to rid the streets of the illegal cables as they are awaiting the companies to respond. This, despite the Deputy Chief Minister asking for a status report.</p>.<p>“In the meantime, we are removing the illegal cables,” BBMP Special Commissioner Dr Trilok Chandra said, stating that they have also stopped giving them permission to lay new cables.</p>.<p>BBMP sources admitted that none of the officials is monitoring the removal of the cables. “We must constantly check for those illegally laying cables,” said a BBMP South Zone official. “It is not easy to check daily, given the (paucity of) manpower.”</p>.<p><strong>Bescom to approach energy minister</strong></p>.<p>On the realisation that merely removing cables will not serve the purpose, Bescom officials have decided to survey all the illegal cables and submit a report to Energy Minister KJ George for further intervention.</p>