Smart City upgrades and duct design issues

Can permanent utility ducts underneath roads upgraded under the Smart City project solve the problem of dangling Optic Fibre Cables (OFCs)? For an outsider, shifting the cables underground might seem the most logical thing to do. But it gets tricky closer to the ground.

Here is an experience that the Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will not forget in a hurry: Not many telecom players were keen to bury their cables on roads completely redesigned under the TenderSURE project. The service providers had their reasons: Hefty charges, last-mile connectivity issues and design problems.

An industry spokesperson had this to say: “The specifications of the ducts are not suitable for the industry’s requirements. On Brigade Road, for instance, the duct should have chambers every 100m, and they need to cross the road to be connected to individual buildings / offices. These specs should be clear at the designing stage itself.”

Cutting both ways

Roads dug up for underground drainage lines trigger water leaks, Metro project trenches lead to GAIL gas leaks and OFC cable-laying leaves an entire locality without water for two days. This is an almost everyday affair in a city where inter-agency coordination is an alien concept.

In March this year, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against two leading telecom service providers by Kasavanahalli residents for a reason: They were left without water for two days after water pipes were damaged by contractors laying OFCs for hi-speed internet.

The Palike referred to its Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that mandates prior permission for OFC laying. But it turned out eventually that the contractor had indeed taken the permission. The residents had nowhere else to go.