The Mamata Banerjee government has decided to clear the mess of overhead wires on priority basis and send them inside underground tunnels in Calcutta and major urban centres of the state.

For starters, the CMC has made tunnels on both sides of a 3km stretch of Harish Mukherjee Road. Cable TV operators and Internet service providers have been asked to lay cables through these tunnels and clear the overhead mess on this stretch by Tuesday.

At a meeting in Nabanna on Saturday, the chairman of the board of administrators of the CMC and minister Firhad Hakim and chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi told cable operators, multiple-system operators and internet service providers about the deadline.

“If they fail to do so (within deadline), the CMC will clear the overhead cable mess from the Harish Mukherjee Road stretch,” said Hakim, adding this initiative would later roll out across Calcutta.

The minister said cable tangles created trouble for the administration in emergencies like fire and gave the city an unkempt look.

Sources said the state government planned to lay underground tunnels in all major cities and towns to clear the overhead tangle. “The initiative is being renewed now as the chief minister wants to take the initiative forward. A detailed plan is being made and financial elements will be assessed,” said a source.

The sources said it was likely that those using underground tunnels would pay service charge to the government. Hakim, however, said the issue would be discussed with cable operators to ensure nothing was imposed on them.

Cable operators present said they would cooperate with the government and this new development would have no impact on the tariff that customers pay at present.

Hakim also said the state government had planned to clear the mess of overhead wires ever since Trinamul came to power in 2011, but financial constraints, among other reasons, had prevented them. “But this time we are determined to do it,” said Hakim,