Bengaluru: Six months have passed since the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) issued a notice to Internet Service Providers (ISPs), directing them to declare unauthorised Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connections in the city. With no steps toward regularisation in sight, low-hung cables have continued to pose problems to the citizens.
As the BBMP puts the onus on the unresponsive ISPs, the absence of comprehensive guidelines to regularise these connections has also contributed to the delay in official action.
Citizens that DH spoke with called the low-hung OFCs a serious threat to commuters and pedestrians. Last week, Jayashree V, 40, suffered a fracture on her left wrist after a cable hung low near the Wipro corporate office on Sarjapur Road got entangled with the handlebar of her scooter, throwing her onto the road.
The incident happened at around 10 am, when Jayashree was on her way to her office in Electronic City.
“I was riding on the right side of the road, near the median. Suddenly, there was a gust; these cables flew across the handlebar of my two-wheeler and got entangled. I fell in the middle of the road. There were no heavy vehicles on the road; otherwise, it could have been fatal,” she told DH.
“At times, these cables are seen lying on the road. They are not only a deathtrap, but they also hamper the city’s overall aesthetics,” a resident of the area said.
In August last year, 23-year-old Kevin Varghese suffered spinal injuries and a femur fracture after an electric pole fell on him, in Devarabisanahalli. The pole was pulled down by a lorry stuck in low-hanging OFCs. Three days later, in SG Palya, Priya Garg, 21, sustained severe burn injuries after a water tanker brought down an electric pole with snapped cables.
BBMP officials said framing guidelines to regularise unauthorised connections is the way forward. The civic body has, so far, followed an ad-hoc action model. M Lokesh, BBMP Chief Engineer, Mahadevapura Zone, said low-hanging cables are being taken down as and when they are spotted.
“Since there is no response from the ISPs, we cannot regularise these connections. By removing these cables, we are also likely to inconvenience those who need the internet every day,” Yamuna, BBMP Chief Engineer (OFC), said.
The BBMP had directed ISPs to declare the unauthorised connections by December 20, 2023.