BSNL struggles to contain underground cable theft in Chennai

CHENNAI: BSNL in the city is finding it difficult to contain the loot of its underground cables, which are often looted for its high-value copper.

Though the vigilance department has intensified surveillance, and departmental action is taken against insiders for their failure to protect the cables, the loot goes unchecked.

The latest case was related to the flip flop by BSNL officials where they initially preferred a complaint but later insisted the police not take further action. On February 16, a junior engineer from Periyar Nagar BSNL exchange, filed a complaint in Kolathur Rajamangalam police station.

He had mentioned that BSNL’s underground cable was damaged due to over bridge work near Avvai Nagar-KK Nagar junction. “The damaged cable was replaced with a new one and we left the remaining cable in the bridge work security personnel’s room with their permission. But the remaining cable worth Rs. 17,500 was found missing the next day,” read the complaint.

On the same day, however, the complainant withdrew his complaint citing that the missing cable was found from a bush near the site. This created trouble for the JE, as the vigilance department, which became suspicious, launched an internal investigation and suspended him for 3 months.

This irked activists and whistle-blowers. “If a cable was lost, the local sub-division engineer (SDE) should have filed a complaint and not the local JE. Further, there are unconfirmed reports that the cable theft is a handwork of BSNL insiders,” alleged V Sathiabalan, former telecom advisory member. “Instead of suspending the complainant, there should have been a police investigation, as this is a theft case.”

When DT Next contacted a senior official from BSNL, he confirmed the cable theft incident and said that department investigation was on. “There are a few such stray cases, but by and large every action is taken to protect the existing BSNL infrastructure,” the official added.