In the ongoing monsoon session of the Maharashtra Assembly, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Siddharth Shirole on Thursday raised the issue of the overhead internet and cable wires across Pune city.
He mentioned a recent incident in which an overhead cable grazed a motorist’s neck and caused an accident in Nanded City, and urged the government to strictly implement the Duct Policy.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Shirole wrote, "Today in the Maharashtra Assembly, I raised a pressing concern about the growing menace of overhead internet and cable wires across Pune city. A recent incident near Nanded City, where a snapped overhead cable grazed a motorist’s neck and caused an accident, is a grim reminder of the danger these loosely hung wires pose. Unfortunately, such incidents are becoming far too common."
"Beyond the huge safety risk, these tangled, unregulated cables are a blight on our city’s skyline, damaging the aesthetics of Pune and giving our public spaces an unkempt, chaotic appearance. Despite the approval of a duct policy in 2018, it remains largely unimplemented. Private companies avoid laying underground cables due to the high ₹12,000 per running meter fee charged by the municipal corporation, choosing instead to install cheaper, riskier overhead wires," the Shivajinagar MLA added.
Shirole further urged the government to reconsider and rationalise ducting charges, enforce the underground duct policy on priority across the state, and integrate systems for internet, CCTV, electric and communication lines into a single underground network.
"If we want to build safe, modern, and visually clean cities, the duct policy should be strictly implemented," he concluded.
