Siliguri: Most of the roads in Siliguri are in a precarious state owing to ongoing underground cabling work coupled with heavy rains. However, the good tiding is that the damaged roads will be repaired before Durga Puja, assured Mayor Gautam Deb on Friday. The announcement came after a meeting with several departments.
“The West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) department will hand over the road repair works to PWD and SMC. We will start the works within the first week of September and complete them before Durga Puja,” the Mayor said.
The underground cabling project, taken up by the WBSEDCL under the West Bengal Electricity Grid Modernisation Project, began in December last year. The first phase of the project covers 220 km across 19 wards under SMC, with an estimated cost of Rs 248 crore.
Due to the work, several key stretches including Sevoke Road, Hill Cart Road, Bidhan Road, College Para, Subhaspally, Kachari More have fallen into disrepair, causing major inconvenience to residents and commuters.
During the meeting, it was decided that roads under the PWD will be repaired by the department, while some stretches near the SMC office, Baghajatin Park, College Para, and Subhaspally will be handled directly by the SMC.
The Mayor also informed that around 600 tubepoles will be required, involving an expenditure of over Rs 4 crore. The SMC will seek funds from the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs (UDMA) department for the purpose.
In addition to road repairs, the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) is set to begin laying pipelines for domestic gas supply. Permission will be required for work along a 128 km stretch, which the SMC has agreed to provide soon.