The Birkirkara local council has again sounded the alarm on the dangers posed by overhanging telecom cables despite its legal warnings last year. 

In fresh filings, the council has said it is "disillusioned" by a lack of action from the authorities, despite it filing two judicial letters against Enemalta and Epic. 

The issue revolves around the installation of overhead fibre optic cables in the locality by communications company Epic which are not only an eyesore but are also posing a danger to the public.

Rather than invest in underground installation, as other service providers have done, Epic has been attaching these cables to electricity poles belonging to Enemalta, some of which are old and rusty.

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Cabinets housing cable-splitting devices are also affixed to the facades of private residences, triggering constant reports by residents about the inconvenience as well as damage caused to their property.

The issue prompted the local council to take legal action.

Last August, the council filed two judicial letters in court against Epic and Enemalta, calling for immediate remedial action to eliminate the danger by shifting its installation underground.

The council reserved its right to seek further legal action whilst holding the service provider and Enemalta responsible for damages. All relative authorities, including the Energy Minister, were served notice of those judicial acts.  

But one year down the line, the problem persists.

This week, the local council filed a judicial protest in the First Hall, Civil Court against Epic and Enemalta, this time also roping in Malta Communications Authority.

While overhead installation continues, concerned residents continue to lodge complaints at the council offices saying that contractors carrying out the works refuse to install the infrastructure underground.

These contractors insist that they are bound by “strict and short timelines” and must carry out the works “as quickly as possible.”

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

In May 2017, then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had announced a pilot project in Birkirkara aimed at removing the unsightly cables and investing instead in underground installation.

That project never materialized.

And the matter is not only one of aesthetics. Since cables are being attached to electricity poles which are old and rusty, the situation poses serious risks.

The council listed various streets, including several located in the Old Church, Infetti and Fleur de Lys areas, where cables were attached to poles of dubious load-bearing capacity.

The council did not know whether Enemalta and the relative ministry were carrying out inspections to determine whether such poles were sufficiently sound and secure to bear all that infrastructure.

The competent and regulatory authorities have taken “no corrective and investigative action” in spite of the its legal warnings last year, said the “disillusioned” council.

Its calls for necessary remedial works to avert any lurking danger and to invest in underground infrastructure appear to have gone unheeded.

“Nothing has been done,” said the council repeating its warnings whilst holding Epic, Enemalta and MCA responsible for damages suffered by residents.

The council also issued notification of the judicial protest to Energy Minister Miriam Dalli.

Lawyer Richard Sladden signed the act.