It might take over a decade to remove defunct overhead cables from Kolkata if work proceeds at the current pace, an estimate suggests.
Only about 1,200 metres of roads were cleared of defunct overhead cables on Tuesday. Kolkata has 46,36,000m of roads that need to be cleared of the overhead mess.
Many Kolkatans suspect that the drive to remove defunct cables would drag on for some time before stopping altogether.
The Telegraph reported on Tuesday that internet, cable TV and telecom service providers had started to mark live cables across the city so that the defunct ones could be snipped and removed.
This is only the second time in several years that the service providers, who tied the overhead cables, would be doing something to clean the mess.
The city has 4,636km or 46,36,000m of roads, according to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). If only 1,200m is covered in one day, it will take as long as 10 years to remove defunct cables from all roads.
Cable operators said it was taking over an hour to snip the defunct cables tied around a pole.
“Six teams worked on Tuesday to remove the defunct cables. Each team was asked to cover 350m of roads but could manage only 200m,” said Tapash Das, a joint secretary of the All Bengal Cable TV and Broadband Operators United Forum.
“This mess has been created over several years. It will take time to clear them,” he said.
Men involved in snipping cables said they had to proceed cautiously as they had to climb bamboo ladders to reach about 15ft or 20 ft to get hold of the wires. Two workers hold the ladder, while one person climbs up.
“We had requested the KMC to give us hydraulic ladders but they refused,” said an operator.
Overhead cables make the city look ugly and also pose a threat to the safety of pedestrians and motorists. Low-hanging cables or ones that lie on roads get entangled in wheels of vehicles, causing accidents.
The Telegraph visited the stretch of AJC Bose Road opposite Gorky Sadan from where defunct cables were pulled down on Monday and found that the view had only marginally improved. What remained was still a thick bunch of black cables.