KOCHI: The ball is now in the court of the Kochi Corporation. With the deadline given by the civic body to the operators to remove the deadly cables on the city ending on Tuesday, it has to be seen how the authorities will react to those agencies which are yet to remove the perilously hanging cables.
It was at a meeting held last week that the Corporation issued a final warning to the cable operators to dispose the dangling cables. The seven-day deadline falls on Tuesday.
“The cables are killers. It was mere luck that no untoward incident has happened yet. We are waiting for the Corporation to move against those who fails to act,” said a Prathapan, a social activist. The Corporation’s decision comes in the wake of the Express report that highlighted the threat posed to pedestrians and motorists owing to the low-lying deadly cables in and around the city.
In the report that appeared two weeks ago, City Express had highlighted the danger posed by dangling cables in Kaloor, Palarivattom, Vyttila and Broadway. The cables include those erected by KSEB, television channels, data providers and telephone companies. Most of the cables hang from posts and juts out of ground.
In the subsequent meeting held by the Corporation, Mayor Soumini Jain had lashed out at cable operators saying that the corporation had not given permission to cable operators to use electric posts for laying cables.
She added that seven-day time has been given for the cable operators to remove the illegal cables. If they fail to do so, the Corporation will start removing it and the amount spent for the purpose will be taken from the cable operators, the Mayor had added.
However, when contacted Mayor Soumini Jain said that one more chance will be given to the cable operators.
“Many agencies failed to attend the meeting convened last week. We have served a notice to the agencies for next round of meeting,” said Mayor Soumini Jain.