Chennai Citizen Connect: Tangled, low-lying internet cables across Ganapathy Street pose safety hazard

CHENNAI: Tangled, criss-crossing, loosely hanging internet cables across Ganapathy Street in West Mambalam are left unattended, causing a major inconvenience to the public.

The internet wires, tied loosely on poles, trees, and houses in several places, hang low, close to the ground. In one instance, a resident attempted to lift the cables with a stick to clear space in front of her home, which had been blocking her pathway.

These exposed fibre cables for the internet, which have increased in number over the years, now run along the streets without oversight. The responsibility lies with both fibre cable operators and the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).

Service providers – the internet operators, whose wires run along the street in most instances, are required to secure permission before laying cables, and they should maintain them safely. They are also liable for accidents caused by poor upkeep.

The city Corporation’s electrical department, on the other hand, oversees poles, street infrastructure and attends to grievances. The department periodically conducts cable-removal drives, taking down unauthorised or dangling wires and imposing fines on operators who fail to comply.

However, none of this seems to be carried out in Ganapathy Street, where the wires continue to pose a nuisance for pedestrians and residents. In the past year, the civic body has cleared several kilometres of unregulated wires across the city, but fresh issues continue to surface.

Speaking to DT Next, the Corporation’s Divisional Electrical Engineer said that operators must ensure wirings are done under norms and maintained properly. The official added that GCC will also intervene if violations are raised. “The department does periodical removal of illegal cables,” he added, assuring that the problem in Ganapathy Street will be solved in a week.