KOCHI: Several optical fibre cable internet customers in the city on Wednesday found themselves without net connection for several hours, disrupting their business, after the Kochi Corporation went on a drive to remove cables that were laid without the permission of the civic body.
Broadband internet users in Girinagar and Elamkulam area were affected the most after the Kochi Corporation removed the underground cables of Tata Communications, Bharti Airtel and Reliance.
With this, the business of several companies functioning in and around the areas was affected adversely. “We lost internet connectivity around 3 pm on Wednesday. When we made a call to the service provider, we came to know that the crisis was due to the Corporation removing some cables. They should have issued a notice before initiating such a drive as the business of the company is badly affected due to this,” said an employee of a private organisation. However, Corporation officers who initiated the drive told Express only unauthorised cables were removed.
“The cables that have been placed through the drainage canals were removed as it has affected the water flow through the canal. Moreover, these underground cables were installed without getting permission from the Corporation. These are illegal cables. There was also the council’s direction to initiate unauthorised road cutting and cable laying,” said an engineer of the Corporation. The officer added that a show cause notice is not necessary for removing such illegal cables/constructions.
Bharti Airtel said the Corporation action was due to some confusion.