‘Underground cabling work to commence in Siliguri soon’

Sanchita Aich Bag, MP, 9 Feb 2023, Siliguri: The Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) is going to start the underground cabling project with the help of West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL). 

The first phase of the work will start soon. A follow-up meeting was held at the SMC on Thursday. 

“The work will be taken up in a phased manner. The WBSEDCL department has already made the Detailed Project Report (DPR). First phase work will commence soon,” said Mayor Gautam Deb. From the main road to streets, lanes and bylanes the overhead electric cables sometimes are the cause of fire in the city. 

They are also an eyesore. With every passing day, cables are increasing by leaps and bounds. Internet cable companies have set up bases in the city. The SMC has now come up with the underground cabling system. The first initiative was taken in June 2022. 

The SMC started creating a database of all cable operators in Siliguri. After collecting the information, six months ago the SMC board held a meeting with West Bengal power minister Aroop Biswas. In this meeting, it was decided that the WBSEDCL department will do the work. After Friday’s meeting, Mayor Gautam Deb said that there are around 35,000 electric poles in the SMC area. 

“The work will cost a huge amount of money. This is why we will do the work phase-wise and area-wise. We can finalise the cost after a final report. If we succeed in this, electric fires caused by overhead cables can be prevented and the city will look much cleaner,” the Mayor added. 

The Mayor also said that along with the underground cabling work, the underground drainage system will come up. Deputy Mayor Ranjan Sarkar, SMC Commissioner Sonam Wangdi Bhutia, MICs, officials of WBSEDCL, PHE department also attended the meeting.

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/underground-cabling-work-to-commence-in-siliguri-soon-508139