BENGALURU: Despite various drives by the BBMP, Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) continues to be menace in the city, posing a hazard to pedestrians. Now the BBMP wants ward level officials to monitor the situation.
A senior officer said that a policy was drafted and sent to the Urban Development Department (UDD), but he admitted that the rules are not strict enough. Hence the UDD is planning to draft a new policy.
“Until the new policy comes into effect, we want the ward level officials to monitor the situation. They will have to play a major role in keeping a check on laying of the OFC and ensure that they are not wrapped around the trees,” he added.
He further added that a few months ago, a raid was carried out where overhead hanging cables and the wires tied to trees were cut and the company responsible was penalized.
“For the past few months, we are again seeing cables tied to trees. This calls for a more widespread monitoring and our department does not have enough staff. There should be support of the officials at the ward level. We are also planning to instruct the OFC cell and the ward level officials to carry out a special drive in the coming days and cut all the cables which are hanging dangerously and also the cables wrapped around trees. They should issue notices to the erring private companies and levy a penalty,” mentioned the officer.
According to a source, it has being observed that the private companies, who want to lay underground cables are trying to request the officers at the zone, to help them lay cables without proper permission, which is illegal. The permissions should come from the OFC cell and if any illegalities are found, serious action will be initiated against the officials and the private company.
