The Hindu 21.12.2010
GHMC refuses to allow road cutting
Special Correspondent
Asks Internet and telecom service providers to go for trenchless |
Most service providers are reluctant to go for trenchless technology
However, water board and CPDCL can take up emergency repairs
HYDERABAD: Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has stopped
giving permissions for private telecom and Internet service providers
from digging roads in an effort to halt damages to the recently laid and
ongoing recarpeting road works in different parts of the capital.
Net and telecom service providers were asked to form a consortium and
to consider taking permissions for laying any cables in one go so that
all these can be inducted into a common underground duct to be laid or
already laid on the roadsides.
“Save for the Water Board and CPDCL to take up emergency repairs or
works, we have categorically informed service providers that no more
road cuttings. The multiplicity of agencies involved in digging is
causing much inconvenience to the public and traffic too as the roads
are getting damaged,” explained Chief Engineer R. Dhan Singh.
Even if GHMC is collecting road cutting fee from different agencies
at roughly Rs.2,000 a metre for restoring the damaged road sections, Mr.
Singh pointed out that such restoration is spoiling the road ‘camber’
for the entire stretch making it uneven and susceptible to breaking up
when it showers.
Intense competition
Moreover, senior officials also feel the service providers have
already put in enough capacity in the last few years and intense
competition is only making them dig more. Most service providers are
reluctant to do the trenchless technology where only a six inch incision
into the ground is made to lay a cable.
Along with the cable operators who dangerously wrung wires on
electric poles, telecom/net service providers have been told by
Commissioner Sameer Sharma in recent meetings to make use of the
available underground ducts or face action.
But their contention is that the rates by the ducts put in by private
service providers is too steep following which the suggestion was made
to form a consortium to work out a solution.
In fact, Chief Engineer says that the BSNL was game for laying a
fresh duct from Telephone Bhavan, Saifabad to Masab Tank and
Narayanaguda on a pilot basis for a 10-km stretch where all cables of
all service providers can be inducted.
It is still in the limbo for lack of response from the service providers.