The decision by the Electricity Department to sever unauthorized cables hanging from electricity poles in Panaji triggered widespread disruption of internet services in and around the city impacting banking, hospitality, government services, and even students. While the intention to remedy a long-standing issue may be good, the manner in which it is undertaken raises questions and starkly highlights the failure of multiple stakeholders — including the Electricity Department, service providers, and the government itself — to address this situation before it escalates into a crisis preemptively.
The matter is far from new, and the Internet Service Providers saw it coming. Firebrand Executive Engineer Kashinath Shetye has been on the job since January, if not before. It may be noted that the Bombay High Court at Goa, on Monday, refused to give any interim relief. The service providers, who are responsible for delivering services to the consumers should have taken initiatives swiftly to ensure that services are not disrupted, that's the least they could do towards their subscribers. If they could move the Chief Minister and the Power Minister post the disruption, they very well could have shown urgency earlier in the larger interest.
Secondly, it is baffling why the Electricity Department allowed such a pileup of dues, amounts that run into crores which are now disputed. A lack of vigilance and enforcement on the part of the department has led to a systemic failure that has now wreaked havoc on everyday life for countless citizens who rely on these services. The department which has been harsh to the defaulting common man on power bills is giving these internet service providers the long rope. The urgency shown now is not justified against that backdrop, especially when the High Court is hearing the matter which is scheduled for a March hearing. Why should the consumers, who have paid for the services, be victims of someone else's failure?
Moreover, the decision to undertake such drastic measures without sufficient communication or planning reflects its failure to enact timely interventions. Rather than cutting cables haphazardly, there should have been an attempt to find a middle ground through constructive dialogues with ISPs and develop a reasonable approach to resolving the issue of accumulated dues. Moreover, it's a pitiable situation for a State betting big on technology that its connectivity is so fragile and insecure to be brought down in a matter of few hours.
What compounds this issue is the peculiar response from the department itself, which opted to log out the officer who was initially assigned to oversee this cable mess. It sends out a poor message because the man-in-charge was doing his job, although he may have gone overboard. It only goes to show the power wielded by the operators. The shifting of personnel during a crisis often breeds inconsistency and a lack of coherent direction, further tangling the very web he intends to unravel.
The current crisis is symbolic of a broader systemic dysfunction within the administrative framework. It highlights the urgent need for coordinated governance, where various departments engage transparently with one another and uphold their responsibilities to citizens. While it is about illegalities and punitive action, it is also about a lack of sensitivity towards the collateral damage that is caused to the lives of people. Citizens deserve reliable services without their lives being disrupted by sins of commission and omission of others.
