May 7: The satellite television boom has become Central Railway's bane. Its services are under constant threat of disruption from hundreds of television cables illegally passing over tracks and power-supply lines.

On a number of occasions in the last two months, they have fallen on cables that feed power to the trains and the signalling equipment, causing major electrical faults. One such accident recently at Badlapur tripped the entire railway power grid. In another case, services between Pune and Kalyan were disrupted when a TV cable fell on overhead wires near Kalyan. For nearly four hours, railway engineering officials could not ascertain why the power had failed.

Such instances of power failure are not uncommon on the Diva-Vasai line over which at least 25 outstation and goods trains pass everyday. The menace, which grows daily, has remained unchecked even though it's illegal.

Officials said satellite TV operators who wish to pull their lines across railway tracks can do so only underground and that too after obtaining permission. "In any case, they cannot take their cables over the overhead power lines of the railways," said a senior official.

With new channels sprouting everyday, said a senior engineering official, cable TV operators are in a rush to increase their clientele so they ignore the railways' safety regulations. The practice has been going on for years but CR has now reacted swiftly after only three incidents of disruption. On Wednesday, it released a notification in the press appealing to all cable operators in the city and even beyond Kalyan to approach the senior divisional electrical engineer (Traction Distribution) within 15 days for permission to extend their wires according to railway rules. CR has also warned that it would disconnect the existing cables if the operators do not get them approved.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.