Gautam Deb, the mayor of Siliguri Municipal Corporation, instructed all private cable television and Internet service providers on Thursday to start replacing their overhead cables with underground ones and work in tandem with the state power supply agency that would soon begin work to lay underground power cables across the city.

“The West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) will execute the project of developing an underground power cable network across Siliguri. That is why the private cable television operators and those who provide cable Internet service have been asked to work with them in tandem so that their cables are also laid underground. These service providers have been asked to get their names registered in the next two weeks so that we can have an idea about the number of such providers and their areas,” said Deb, after a meeting with the representatives of service providers.

On December 12, chief minister Mamata Banerjee laid the foundation stone of the underground power cable project at a government function at the Kanchenjungha Stadium.

Funded by the World Bank, the estimated cost of the project is around Rs 550 crore. Around Rs 218 crore will be spent in the first phase.

Around 32,000 electric poles will be removed along with transformers. Initially, work will be taken up in 17 of 47 wards.

“WBSEDCL will start digging all major roads. I have asked the private operators to utilise the opportunity to lay their cables underground," Deb said, adding this would ease traffic.