Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has directed authorities to remove all unauthorised cables from electric poles within Greater Hyderabad limits, allowing only licensed lines to remain. The order was issued on Friday by Justice B. Nagesh during a hearing on two petitions concerning overhead cable safety.
The court strongly condemned the lack of enforcement, referencing the recent tragic incident in Ramanthapur where five people died after coming in contact with a live wire during a religious procession. Justice Nagesh described the event as “a shameful failure of civic responsibility,” noting that a 9-year-old boy had to perform his father’s last rites instead of celebrating his birthday.
Telangana High Court cable removal directive follows fatal Ramanthapur incident
The bench expressed serious concern over the negligence of officials and questioned how public safety could be ensured if regulations remained ineffective. “Electric poles are burdened with tangled wires, and authorities simply pass blame,” the judge observed.
Petitioners informed the court that overloaded poles were tilting and that some officials were willfully ignoring the issue for personal gain. In a sharp remark, Justice Nagesh said, “Everyone can recognize Gandhi on currency notes, but no one notices the wires dangling from poles.”
The court noted that the state government had already ordered emergency removal of unauthorised wires following the Ramanthapur deaths. Airtel had challenged this move in court, and its petition came up again for hearing. The judge reiterated that regardless of strict or lenient rules, such fatal lapses must not be repeated.
