Cable operators asked to remove all overhead wires

Kolkata: In its attempt to ensure a cable-free sky, the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) has made it clear to the cable operators in the area to remove all overhead cables and put them inside underground ducts latest by March.

NKDA chairman Debashis Sen recently met the cable operators and communicated to them that chief minister Mamata Banerjee wants to make the city and its fringes free from visual pollution. Some operators had said that they could not stay afloat in business if even one operator does not use the official duct. One-time fee and recurring fees levied on them are quite high and the small margins would be wiped out if there is a discrepancy in fees payable.

“We are ready to provide assistance like providing one-time subsidy to these operators and even act as a mediator so that they can take loan from banks without any hassle. We will hold a meeting at the New Town police station on Wednesday to apprise them about how the government is willing to help them in this regard,” NKDA chairman Debashis Sen said.

The NKDA is also appealing to the citizens to take cable connections only from those operators who arrange underground connection.

Most of the cable operators in New Town has been laying underground ducts so the sky is largely free of hanging wires. However, to cut corners and save money, some small cable operators, especially near the edges of the city, have been providing signals illegally by stringing the cables on street light poles.

Mr Sen has already spoken with Bidhannagar city police commissioner Gyanwant Singh and has asked him for providing assistance in this endeavour.