Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday chaired a high-level stakeholders’ meeting to tackle the growing problem of internet outages and cable damage that have been disrupting businesses, educational institutions and government offices across Goa.
The meeting was attended by IT Minister Rohan Khaunte, Chief Secretary V Candavelou, and senior officials from the Public Works Department, Electricity Department, Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, as well as representatives of internet service providers.
During the meeting, Sawant issued firm instructions to prevent unplanned cable cuts. He directed the Electricity Department not to undertake any cable cutting work without prior clearance and to closely coordinate with the IT Department before executing any such activity. He also stressed that advance intimation must be given and all safety procedures strictly followed before any work that could affect digital connectivity.
To address the issue on a long-term basis, the Chief Minister asked the IT Department to fast-track the creation of underground duct infrastructure to safely house communication cables. He further ordered that the Electricity Department should not carry out cable-cutting activities for the next one year, until proper underground ducts are installed. In areas where such ducts already exist, departments were told to use them mandatorily.
Officials informed the Chief Minister that all concerned departments and service providers will now coordinate more closely to minimise service disruptions and safeguard critical digital networks, ensuring more reliable and uninterrupted internet connectivity across Goa.
