Illegal optical fibre cables reappear despite Bescom’s removal drive

Bengaluru: Illegal optical fibre cables (OFC) continue to plague the city despite Bescom’s special drive to remove them after last year’s accident, in which a pole came crashing down on a student.

The 21-year-old student sustained 35 per cent burns in SG Palya in August.

Bescom had identified and removed nearly 3,200 km of illegal cables attached to the electrical infrastructure. However, nearly a year later, many of these cables have reappeared.

A recent survey by Bescom reveals that approximately 2,335.82 km of illegal wires are now hanging around the city. Bescom set a July 8 deadline this year for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and operators to remove any illegal cables attached to electrical infrastructure.

Despite this, there has been minimal response, and Bescom has removed close to 1,798.9 km of such cables over the past week.

Bescom officials remain sceptical about the situation improving anytime soon, as many operators tend to relay the cables after a while. "We have contacted several service providers, asking them to remove illegal cables to minimise public inconvenience. Some comply, but many do not. In many cases, we see the cables being re-laid within a week of removal," a senior Bescom official said.

While Bescom has managed to gauge the extent of illegal cables, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has struggled to determine the full scope of the problem.

"The issue is vast, and it is impossible for us to survey the entire city. We reached out to all operators for data and offered to regularise the cables, but there has been no response," a senior BBMP official said on the condition of anonymity. The official added that they take action and cut down illegal cables whenever they receive complaints or are notified.

Officials from both Bescom and the BBMP expressed their frustration and called for stronger legal or policy-level interventions.

Citizens anxious 

Pedestrians walk past bundled optical fibre cables occupying the footpath near the Halasuru Gate traffic police station.

The situation has left citizens worried, as there have been numerous accidents.

Recently, a resident of Sarjapur fractured her left wrist after tripping over a cable.

"It is scary how some cables hang so low, making it dangerous to walk on the footpaths. We hear that authorities are taking action, but we don't see any improvement on the ground," said Sumanth S, a techie.