Civic officials have started to crack down on cable operators who use trees and poles on TenderSURE Roads to hang their cables and equipment.
On Tuesday, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials cut such cables on Cunningham Road. They cleared a small stretch of the road and cut cables lying on the footpath.
In the coming days, they plan to cover other roads in the Central Business District.
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Vijay Kumar, Executive Engineer (OFC Cell), said that about 400 metres of cable had been removed until afternoon.
“Whichever company comes to us seeking an explanation for cutting the cables have been told them to get the necessary permission and reroute the cables underground,” said Mr. Kumar.
The BBMP has asked cable operators to cough up ₹1,500 per running metre for routing cables underground on TenderSURE roads. It expects to earn more than ₹50 crore from telecom operators once all the cables are rerouted. “We have repeatedly requested them to take the cables underground, but they did not oblige. The concept of TenderSURE roads is to provide pedestrian-friendly roads that improve the beauty of the city. Overhead cables spoil the look of the road and locality,” said M.K. Gunashekar, Chairman, Tax and Finance Standing Committee, BBMP. The civic agency issued notice in July to all cable and telecom operators to re-route their cables. “Initially, we gave a notice of 15 days. Even after extending this to a month, cable operators did not respond,” said an official.
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Mr. Kumar said that civic officials would move to other TenderSURE roads in the vicinity, including Residency Road, St. Marks Road, Commissariat Road and Vittal Mallya Road, in the coming days.