Exposed wires on flyovers both ugly and dangerous

During visits to flyovers in the city, mid-day found swathes of wires and cables cast off next to them, like this one on the Vikhroli (East) flyover along the Eastern Express Highway. Pic/Satej Shinde

Even as it undertakes a beautification project by painting facades and lighting flyovers, there are wires and fibre optic cables all over the city. Civic activists have slammed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the dumping of wires and fibre optic cables. They have called for a policy to manage the scores of wires dumped near flyovers or left hanging all over the city, thereby defacing it.

According to civic records, in the late 1990s, the BMC issued orders to lay all of the city's cables underground. But no specific policy was prepared for TV, mobile and internet broadband cables which dominate the city's expanse, cited a report in this paper.

Activists said that besides the obvious defacement, these wires also pose a threat to life, at times. In a 2018 incident at Charni Road, a dumper dragged a hanging wire across the road leading to a street light collapsing. The pole in turn snapped an overhead wire. The incident led to 54 trains getting cancelled during peak hours.

The civic body must see that beauty goes hand in hand with safety. While there is considerable debate and dissension about lighting up the city, one does agree that there will be no one opinion about this, the safety aspect should be non-negotiable. We must have a comprehensive and visionary policy for these wires and cables. Comprehensive means that it covers all corners and infra of the city. Visionary, as in futuristic as so much work is being done in the city with reference to public infra projects, so wires and cables, how they should be tied up or ensuring that these are not inadvertently affected during the ongoing work. Thirdly, these policies should be time-bound so that these cables etc., are cleared within a dedicated time frame. There must also be routine inspections and periodic checks so that the problems do not recur and any lapses are rectified immediately.