Some days back there was a flurry of activity in Panaji when shockingly the Electricity Department (ED) went wild by removing the overhanging and bunched cables from concrete poles. These cables, of several internet service providers and cable TV operators, were hindering the ED’s maintenance work. Cables were severed presumably because the service providers had for 3 years either used the poles illegally, had no permission or not paid the dues running into crores of rupees.
The Executive Engineer, who had initiated the action, might have got a silent approval from the authorities to carry out the work else it is impossible to do what he did. Later he was cut to size, his powers were clipped and assigned different duties.
Cable cutting resulted in the slowing or death of internet services and to an uproar by citizens, service providers and establishments (homes, banks, post offices, govt departments etc). The High Court judges have asked the service providers to fall in line with the rules of the ED and to pay 20% of the arrears for the period between 2021 and Dec 2024. A positive fallout of the ‘harsh’ action by the ED is that now the govt has mandated the service providers to register on the national Gati Shakti Sanchar portal, and pay the fees for using the poles.
