Nagpur: The newly constructed footpath on East High Court road behind Neeri has been dug up for laying power cable, thanks to the negligence of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) in implementing its cable duct policy approved six years ago.
Activist Akshay Samarth saw the footpath being dug up and lodged a complaint with NMC. Municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar then directed the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) to restore the footpath as it was after finishing the work.
Samarth told TOI it was loss of public money and also inconvenience to people. “NMC concretized the stretch behind Neeri. The footpath on it was constructed after a long delay. It was completed just a couple of months ago. Now, one side of the footpath has been dug up totally from NEERI gate to Deekshabhoomi square. NMC should have laid a duct below the footpath for laying cables. It is a simple thing lacking across the city,” he said.
Considering past experience, there is question mark whether the footpath will be restored at all. MSEDCL had laid power cables in various parts of the city by digging sides of the roads but never restored the stretches properly. One example is London Street road. The restoration was done after many months and is not up to the mark.
In 2013, the then standing committee chairman Avinash Thakre had approved cable duct policy. NMC was supposed to lay ducts in storm water drains along the roads or on the sides of the roads. NMC was supposed to allow power or telecommunications companies to lay cables in the duct. The civic body was supposed to prevent digging of roads time and again and also earn revenue from leasing out ducts.
NMC did not implement the policy and continued to give permissions for digging of roads or its sides for laying power or optical fibre cables. Under Smart City Project proposed in Pardi, Bhandewadi, Bharatwada and Punapur in East Nagpur, the special purpose vehicle Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation has planned to lay ducts along the roads to prevent digging in future.
Activist Akshay Samarth saw the footpath being dug up and lodged a complaint with NMC. Municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar then directed the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) to restore the footpath as it was after finishing the work.
Samarth told TOI it was loss of public money and also inconvenience to people. “NMC concretized the stretch behind Neeri. The footpath on it was constructed after a long delay. It was completed just a couple of months ago. Now, one side of the footpath has been dug up totally from NEERI gate to Deekshabhoomi square. NMC should have laid a duct below the footpath for laying cables. It is a simple thing lacking across the city,” he said.
Considering past experience, there is question mark whether the footpath will be restored at all. MSEDCL had laid power cables in various parts of the city by digging sides of the roads but never restored the stretches properly. One example is London Street road. The restoration was done after many months and is not up to the mark.
In 2013, the then standing committee chairman Avinash Thakre had approved cable duct policy. NMC was supposed to lay ducts in storm water drains along the roads or on the sides of the roads. NMC was supposed to allow power or telecommunications companies to lay cables in the duct. The civic body was supposed to prevent digging of roads time and again and also earn revenue from leasing out ducts.
NMC did not implement the policy and continued to give permissions for digging of roads or its sides for laying power or optical fibre cables. Under Smart City Project proposed in Pardi, Bhandewadi, Bharatwada and Punapur in East Nagpur, the special purpose vehicle Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation has planned to lay ducts along the roads to prevent digging in future.
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