TGSPDCL’s knee-jerk reaction of cable removal leads to massive internet outage in Hyderabad
After six people died in an electrocution incident during a chariot procession in Hyderabad, TGSPDCL began removing cables from electric poles. The move triggered widespread internet outages, leaving citizens frustrated, especially as rains forced many to work from home.
Hyderabad: Several areas in State capital suffered a massive internet disruption on Tuesday after power supply department officials went on a spree of cutting internet cables from the electric poles, apparently as a knee-jerk reaction to the electrocution of six persons during a Sri Krishnashtami procession in Ramanthapur on Sunday.
The sudden decision caught the internet users off guard, as the outage hit those working from home hard, in addition to silencing the television sets in thousands of households, where people depended on OTT platforms for watching television shows.
The impact of the knee-jerk reaction was reportedly based on strict instructions from the Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Ltd (TGSPDCL) C&MD Musharraf Faruqui and Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, who holds the power portfolio, to cut all the cables that were using the electric poles for support.
Notes of dissent from netizens flared up on social media accounts questioning the propriety behind the decision to cut the cables plunging the city into a disarray as internet outage spread from one area to another.
The government-imposed internet disruption ruffled the feathers of many, as it came close on the heels of police advisories asking software firms to allow employees to work from home in view of the heavy rain predictions by the Met authorities.
Sources in major internet service provider companies indicated that more than 1.5 lakh connections were affected just in Jio, AirTel, ACT and Hathway companies.
Several netizens expressed dismay over the haphazard measures, with some even claiming their livelihoods were affected. One user, posting under the username @SaveTheSystem, wrote: “I lost my job today due to internet disconnection. Thanks to the government. I can stop paying taxes and live a happy life provided by the government. #Savethesystem.”
Another user, @halleyji, commented: “Should have planned better even if it was in the interest of public safety. Many internet service providers are down due to this action and affecting people who WFH (sic).”Similarly, @pranaykumar562 said: “No prior notice to public, neither from ISP nor from TGSPDCL. How do you expect people working from home to work?” while tagging Telangana CMO, Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, and CM Revanth Reddy.
Internet users in Hyderabad, particularly those using Act Fibernet, Jio and Airtel, have extensively reported outages on Downdetector, a popular real-time platform that tracks and reports service disruptions across websites, apps and internet service providers.
COAI objects to cable cuts:
Meanwhile, the Cellular Operations Association of India (COAI) took a strong objection to what it termed as “indiscriminate and aggressive cutting of optical fiber cables” by the electricity department.
In a statement on Tuesday night, the COAI Director General, Lt Gen S P Kochar acknowledged “significant problems” with fiber-to-home connectivity in Hyderabad due to cable cuts by TGSPDCL. “Today, a major netowrk outage is affecting a large number of home broadband users in the city”.
The COAI media statement asserted that the internet cables do not carry electricity and are therefore unrelated to power infrastructure.
“The industry is actively working to resolve the issue and restore services as quickly as possible. We urge the department to refrain from such indiscriminate actions, as they result in severe disruptions to internet connectivity, which is now an essential service”, the statement added..
