This is with reference to the news report ' Power dept halts cable cuts , awaits High court verdict' (TGE, Feb, 27). The relentless drive undertaken by the Goa Electricity dept of cutting cables of Internet service providers and cable operators of televisions, hanging from electric poles in Panaji city , was a step in the wrong direction and needs to be condemned outright . As a result around 4 lakh users including banks, offices, business establishments and residences were affected across the state. According to reports , there are around 75,000 electric poles with around 30,000 km of cables strung around these poles . The question that arises then is, what was the Electricity dept doing over the past 5 years or more , and what kind of site inspection was carried out by their linesmen and inspectors. The matter has now snowballed into an almost impossible task of dismantling these cables . The only alternative now is underground cabling, which the Goa government is believed to be contemplating. Demanding payment of an annual hefty fee of Rs 300/ per pole is even more atrocious.
