Tangled Overhead Cables Pose Safety Hazard Ahead of Ganesh Immersion

Hyderabad:More than a year after the Ramanthapur cable electrocution tragedy claimed five lives, Hyderabad’s tangled internet and cable network continues to pose a safety and maintenance challenge, ahead of the Ganesh immersion festivities.

Five people were killed and six injured during a Sri Krishna Shobha Yatra at Ramanthapur when a dangling television cable came into contact with a live power line and the procession vehicle. The incident brought the city’s long-standing problem of overhead telecom and cable wires into sharp focus. The tragedy had triggered a major crackdown on cables strung along electricity poles.

Following the incident, power officials began removing cables attached to electricity poles across GHMC limits. The exercise, which left thousands of TV and internet connections, soon turned into a dispute between the power utility and internet and cable service providers, who alleged that cables installed with valid permissions were also being removed and the matter reached court.

While the legal and administrative battle played out, the city’s cable network remained a work in progress.

Ahead of the Ganesh immersion festivities, this reporter found tangled and low-hanging cables in several areas including West Marredpally, Padmaraonagar, Musheerabad and Punjagutta, with some bundles lying beside roads and others wrapped around electricity poles.

In West Marredpally, shopkeeper Satyanarayana said repeated inaction had left the wires where they were. In Musheerabad, a medical shopkeeper said a pole outside his shop had several tangled cables, with some hanging onto the shop’s shed before extending towards a neighbouring building. Bundles of cables have been placed along the walls of the Punjagutta flyover, with wires running across sections of the structure.

Those transporting tall idols of Lord Ganesha mounted on trucks were seen using stucks to push the wires out of the way.

A senior lineman told Deccan Chronicle that workers often struggle to access electricity lines because of the cables wrapped around poles. “We face difficulties while climbing the poles for repairs, and this can even lead to falls. The unused cables are not being removed and keep accumulating,” he said.

An engineer working with an internet service provider said the problem was also linked to the manner in which new connections were installed. Old cables were often left behind when customers shifted connections or took new services, while additional loops were kept around poles for future repairs.

“Whenever a new connection is provided, the old wire is not removed. It is folded and left at the pole, while a fresh cable is laid. Some additional cable is also kept as a loop so that it can be used for repairs or reconnection if the line develops a fault,” he said.

Residents said the removal drive and subsequent court proceedings had not resulted in a permanent solution to the city’s cable mess. They sought a coordinated system in which service providers are identified, abandoned cables are removed and new lines are installed in an organised manner.

Power department staff have also suggested shifting telecom networks underground or providing separate poles for service providers to prevent their wires from becoming entangled with electricity infrastructure.