Mayor Shivakumar on Wednesday directed the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) to re-lay underground (UG) cables in different parts of the city on the grounds that it was taken up in a haphazard manner.
Addressing a meeting of the senior officials of the CESC, the Mayor also sought a map of the UG cables criss-crossing the city and pointed out that it had become an impediment for the MCC engineers to take up UGD repairs and extend drinking water connection.
Mysuru is a heritage city and known for its monuments and yet the CESC has drawn the power cables indiscriminately without a though to the city aesthetics, said the Mayor. He also urged the CESC to stop levying penalty on contractors taking up MCC work when they stumble upon UG power lines and damage it in the process.
‘’The UG cables have been laid unscientifically and in the absence of a network map the contractors and engineers are unable to identify their path and hence, expose themselves to risk,” said Mr. Shivakumar.
The CESC was instructed to provide a detailed route map where the 11 kV power lines have been drawn in the city and its engineers were instructed to show the locations where the UG cables have been drawn before the MCC embarked on any emergency repair works. ‘’In the absence of such a map it has become difficult for the MCC to execute any emergency repairs,” said Mr. Shivakumar and called for greater coordination between the MCC and CESC in future. A section of the councillors flayed the CESC for ‘’indiscriminately’’ installing feeder boxes and said it posed a threat to pedestrians.
The CECS officials said almost 80% of the works pertaining to laying the UG power cables had been completed and the MCC would be provided with a network map. The MCC was also assured of cooperating while undertaking emergency repair works. Deputy Mayor G. Rupa, MCC Commissioner Lakshmikanth Reddy, and others were present.
