Kerala has become a state where road accidents involving cable occur regularly. The other day, a woman, who was travelling with her husband, died after the cable got entangled around her neck in Alappuzha. The deceased is Usha (56), wife of Vijayan of Adinadu of Karunagapally. In the last three months, about half a dozen accidents involving cable have taken place in Kochi. Many were lucky to escape. No effective measures have been taken to avoid cable traps despite the intervention of the High Court. Pits dug for laying cables and pipes of the water authority, potholes on roads due to non-maintenance and uncovered sewers on roads have turned into nightmares for motorists. The responsible officials intervene only when someone dies after falling into a pothole on the road.

Cables are mainly laid by private telecom companies, BSNL, local channels etc. Neither the employees nor the locals know about the rules to be followed while doing cable laying work. The officials do not even bother to visit the spot where the work is being done.

The government should fix a huge amount of compensation for accidents and deaths caused by cable. It should collect compensation from the company responsible for the accident. If then, the responsible engineer will not be able to leave the spot after handing over the work to inexperienced workers. Road safety officials should impose heavy fines if the cables are found tied carelessly and in such a way as to cause danger. However, no one seems to care about this. It appears that vehicle inspectors are only concerned about motorists not wearing helmets.

The rule states that if pits are dug on the road, fences should be built around them, reflectors should be installed near them, and hazard warning boards should be put up. However, no contractor does this. The authorities, who levy a fuel cess of one rupee per litre in the name of road safety, do not spend a penny to ensure the safety of the people. The lion's share of the 68 crore rupees allocated for road safety in the last budget was spent on buying vehicles and cameras. It would have been nice if some of those cameras were used to spot potholes and give warnings. The construction sites where the national highway is being widened lack adequate warnings and protection. The officials are acting as though they will fix all these issues after a serious accident.