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Bengal

KMC mulls pilot project to put overhead wires underground in Park Street

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is mulling the idea of commencing a pilot project in Park Street area, for putting all overhead wires underground.

Mayor Sovan Chatterjee said on Wednesday that a meeting in this regard has already been held in presence of state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim and a number of agencies like cable service MSOs, CESC, BSNL and similar stakeholders, whose wires, hanging from lampposts, trees and every vantage point, is an eyesore in the city's skyline.

"The state government is seriously trying to work out a strategy on how to clear this 'jungle of wires'. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has formed a high level committee in this regard, that comprises ministers like Firhad Hakim, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Moloy Ghatak and me. Kolkata is not a planned city like New Town, Rajarhat or Nabadiganta area in Salt Lake. So, the process will take time," Chatterjee said.

Responding to a poser from CPI(M) councillor Madhuchhanda Deb at the monthly meeting of the civic body, the Mayor pointed out that the paucity of road space in the city is a major hurdle in putting the overhead wires underground.

"There are a number of such overhead wires belonging to utility services, which have gone defunct. Locating the operational ones among them is a difficult job. Putting such overhead wires underground throughout the city will not be possible. Hence, we are working out a strategy," Chatterjee maintained.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while addressing multi-service operators (MSOs) and cable operators in April, had asked them to clean up the mess of wires and urged all stakeholders, including Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Public Works Department (PWD) and private utility CESC, whose posts are used to string up the cables, to chalk out a concrete plan that would set the house in order.

It may be mentioned that the city has around 2,500 cable operators and 17 lakh cable homes, where the cables are connected. A conservative estimate puts the length of cables dangling all over the city at 20,000 km.

In New Town, all cables have been underground since the inception. Pipes have been laid on both sides of the road at a depth of about 1 metre, to carry optic fibre cables or satellite TV cables. There are junction points every 20 metre or so, for connections to reach individual plots.

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