Overhead power lines to go from 6 Bengal towns by March

Kolkata: Bengal towns like Siliguri, Chandernagore, Kharagpur, and three others will have an underground power distribution network by March 2026 as the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) is in the final stages of implementing a Rs 2,800 crore project, 70% of which is funded by the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

According to senior govt officials, once the project is commissioned, Siliguri, Chandernagore, Kharagpur, Asansol, Baruipur, and Rajarhat will largely be insulated from the breakdown of the power distribution network, which occurred during cyclones Aila (2009) and Amphan (2020) and left some 20 lakh consumers in those towns without electricity for several days.