A Knee-Jerk Reaction to Tragedy

Hyderabad, a bustling IT hub, was thrown into disarray on August 19, 2025, as the Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGSPDCL) launched an aggressive campaign to remove internet and cable TV wires from electricity poles across the city. The move, described as a “knee-jerk reaction,” followed two tragic electrocution incidents during religious processions that claimed eight lives within 24 hours. On August 18, six people were electrocuted when a Krishna Janmashtami chariot touched a live wire in Ramanthapur, and on August 19, two men died during a Ganesh idol procession in Bandlaguda due to a similar mishap involving high-tension wires.

Prompted by these incidents, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who oversees the energy portfolio, ordered TGSPDCL to clear dangling cables “on a war footing” to ensure public safety. TGSPDCL Chairman and Managing Director Musharraf Faruqui instructed staff to remove all low-hanging and hazardous cables, citing risks to pedestrians, motorists, and electricity workers, especially ahead of the upcoming Ganesh Puja season.

However, the execution of this directive has sparked widespread outrage. Without prior notice to internet service providers (ISPs) or customers, TGSPDCL teams began cutting optical fiber and cable TV wires, leading to massive internet outages across areas like Kompally, Shaikpet, Tellapur, and beyond. Over 1.5 lakh connections from major ISPs like Jio, Airtel, ACT Fibernet, and Hathway were affected, with some reports estimating 40,000 complaints from Airtel Wi-Fi users and 20,000 from Jio Fiber users alone.

Public Outcry and Work-from-Home Woes

The abrupt outages hit Hyderabad’s work-from-home (WFH) community hard, especially as heavy rains and police advisories had already prompted IT companies to encourage remote work. Netizens flooded social media platforms like X with complaints, accusing TGSPDCL and the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government of poor planning and negligence. One user, @pranaykumar562, tagged Telangana’s Chief Minister’s Office, Deputy CM Vikramarka, and CM Revanth Reddy, demanding, “No prior notice to public, neither from ISP nor from TGSPDCL. How do you expect people working from home to work?” Another user, @AAbdul141, accused TGSPDCL of “deliberately disconnecting internet cables,” disrupting WFH employees and CCTV recordings.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) issued a sharp rebuke, emphasizing that internet cables do not carry electricity and are unrelated to power infrastructure. COAI Director General S.P. Kochhar called the cable-cutting “indiscriminate and aggressive,” noting that it caused severe disruptions to an essential service vital for education, commerce, and daily life. The association urged TGSPDCL to reconsider its approach and coordinate with ISPs to avoid further chaos.

Political Backlash: “Elect a Clown, Expect a Circus”

The internet blackout drew fierce criticism from opposition leaders, particularly BRS Working President and former IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao (KTR). In a scathing post on X on August 20, KTR lambasted the Revanth Reddy government, stating, “Elect a clown, expect a circus! TGSPDCL is snapping internet cables across Hyderabad without any intimation to ISPs or customers. Social media is flooded with aggrieved netizens expressing anguish. Lakhs of internet users hit. WFH disrupted. Daily life in chaos. If there’s an issue with cables, there must be a proper process. But a clueless Revanth Govt resorts to such knee-jerk actions.”

KTR’s remarks echoed a broader sentiment of frustration, with netizens and analysts pointing out the irony of the government’s actions. Just days earlier, CM Revanth Reddy had urged IT companies to allow WFH due to heavy rains, only for TGSPDCL’s actions to render remote work impossible for many.

TGSPDCL’s Defense and Prior Warnings

TGSPDCL defended its actions, stating that the cable removal was part of a long-overdue campaign to address safety hazards caused by decades of accumulated, often dysfunctional, cables. Musharraf Faruqui noted that low-hanging wires, some as low as six feet, posed significant risks during festivals and processions. He also claimed that TGSPDCL had held multiple meetings with cable operators and ISPs on July 27, August 7, and August 28, 2024, urging them to organize cables according to regulations. According to TGSPDCL, some operators failed to comply, prompting the utility to take unilateral action.

However, these claims have been met with skepticism. Netizens and COAI argued that the lack of coordination and communication with ISPs and the public undermined the safety-driven intent. One X user remarked, “Careless service, Impacting of Internet usage People are WFH…? Also businesses are impacting because of your egoistic decisions…?”

The Aftermath and Ongoing Efforts

The outages have disrupted not only WFH schedules but also online classes, CCTV surveillance, and access to OTT platforms, leaving thousands of households in limbo. Downdetector reported a surge in outage complaints for ISPs like ACT Fibernet, Jio, and Airtel. Meanwhile, telecom operators are scrambling to restore services, but the scale of the disruption has made quick fixes challenging.

TGSPDCL’s campaign is set to continue for ten days, with a focus on clearing cables ahead of the Ganesh immersion festivities. In response to the backlash, some ISPs, including ACT Fiber, GTPL/Bharat Fiber, and I Net, have accelerated efforts to remove or reorganize their cables as per TGSPDCL’s directives. However, the absence of a clear timeline for service restoration has left residents frustrated and uncertain.

A Call for Better Planning

The Hyderabad internet outage underscores a critical need for better coordination between government agencies, utility companies, and service providers. While TGSPDCL’s actions were driven by legitimate safety concerns, the lack of advance notice and poor planning have turned a well-intentioned initiative into a public relations disaster. As Hyderabad strives to maintain its reputation as a global IT hub, such disruptions highlight the fragility of its infrastructure and the importance of systematic processes over hasty measures.

For now, Hyderabad’s residents and businesses are left grappling with the fallout, hoping for swift restoration of services and a more thoughtful approach to future infrastructure challenges. As one netizen put it, “Why don’t you think of impacts before doing something…? Internet is not working in most of places in city.” The Revanth Reddy government now faces the task of addressing these grievances while balancing public safety and connectivity demands.

This story is compiled based on reports from Telangana Today, India Today, News18, and posts on X, reflecting the events and sentiments as of August 20, 2025.