Darj civic body pushes the pedal to rid town of dangling wires & cables

Amitava Banerjee | MP | 12 Oct 2022 | Darjeeling: If one raises the question as to what is the biggest eyesore in the Queen of the Hills, the unequivocal answer will be, overhead wires and cables. Such is the magnanimity of the problem that some have decided to jokingly change the name "Darjeeling" to "Taarjeeling" (Taar being the Nepali word for wire.) However, all this is set to change with the Darjeeling Municipality deciding to step in. 

"Darjeeling is a hill station with unparalleled beauty. I have been frequenting Darjeeling since I was a kid. Off late the overhead wires and cables, all over the town, including places of tourist attraction, have robbed the town of her beauty. You can't get a view or a photograph without an ugly cable or wire, obstructing," stated Tamal Majumdar from Kolkata. 

"On September 29, we had a meeting with the WBSEDCL, BSNL, internet and Television cable operators. We had told them clearly that as Darjeeling is an international tourist destination steps have to be taken to restore her past glory. We had issued clear instructions that all unused, old, not-in-use dead cables and wires will have to be removed by October 11. 

We have started removing the wires from today," stated Gopal Pariyar, Councillor, Darjeeling Municipality. The operation started from Darjeeling Chowrasta to the Darjeeling Railway Station on Tuesday. "We have drawn up a phase-wise plan for all 32 wards. 

This programme, a part of Darjeeling's beautification plans will continue. We will have a review meeting on October 20 again," added Pariyar. 

"There are 55 cable operators in Darjeeling. They should remove the deadlines themselves," stated Biswa Gurung of the Television Cable Operators Union. 

Darjeeling is one of those rare places where private water connection pipes run parallel with overhead electricity, wifi and television cables, all tangled on electricity poles. 

There have been proposals time and again of putting everything underground but the proposals have not yet been translated into action. A few years back the naked electricity cables had been replaced by insulated cables in Darjeeling town. 

http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/darj-civic-body-pushes-the-pedal-to-rid-town-of-dangling-wires-cables-495634