Internet service providers (ISPs) have completed their fiber internet cable management work in Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City within the deadline set by the city authority. The punctuality of the work has drawn praise from the city’s mayor Chiri Babu Maharjan.
Earlier, the Sub-Metropolitan city had called on ISPs to remove their cluttered cables off the poles to minimize risks and improve the beauty of the city damaged by the dangling internet cables. ISPs, for their part, acted accordingly which generated appreciation from the city’s mayor.
Mr. Maharjan praised the ISPs in a statement and said the city’s initial attempt at cable management was successful. He added that the city now has become safer and looked better after removing the cable clutters of the utility poles. ISPs run their fiber internet cables and other equipment to their customers but have lately received huge criticism for its possible safety hazards and effects on the city’s looks.
Also read: ISPs demand access to underground cable duct laid by NEA
Internet cable management work completes ahead of time in Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City
“In the first phase, it was decided to manage fiber internet cables hanging in the four Ashoka Stupa areas, the wires hanging in the Kumbheshwar temple complex, the Patan Durbar Square Area, and the wires hanging in Rathkhel in Pulchok, the area where Shri Rato Machchhindranath’s chariot is built, under the coordination of the Internet Service Provider Association of Nepal (ISPAN) within ten days. ISPAN and the city police of Lalitpur Metropolitan City completed the wire management work three days ahead of the schedule, in one week,” read the statement.
The city government thanked all the ISP representatives and the city police of Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan. Cable management is part of the objective to make Lalitpur a safe, beautiful, and smart city.
The work though is to continue in phases. For it, unilateral meetings will be arranged among the stakeholders to draft the plan ahead. NEA and ISPs have been in conflict over poles’ fiber cable issues with the former cutting off power and causing internet disruption. After the case heat up, the regulator Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) declared internet disruption a violation of human rights. But, the work went without conflict in Lalitpur.
Cable management work has become one of the key plans for many municipalities. The dangling cables are subject to causing safety risks and don’t favor the city’s urbanization. However, a multi-party dialogue could help sort out the issue in cities such as Lalitpur.
Do you think the local bodies need to step up their effort for cable management work within their jurisdiction? Do share in the comments below.
