Underground power cable works to be completed by June-end

Kakinada: The underground power cable installation work taken up from NTR Statue at Sarpavaram Junction to GMC Balyogi Centre near MSN Charities with a cost of Rs 96 crore in 2017 under the Smart City project, is likely to be completed by June-end this year.

Apart from underground cables lying, centre lighting, foot paths for pedestrians on both sides of road, with 10 metre wide roads are also the part of the project being executed by BVSR Constructions. The project has been completed for a distance of three kilometres out of the total eight from Sarpavaram Centre to Anand theatre complex for a distance of three kilometres. According to official sources, deviation in the original route has been taken due to land acquisition and ground water surfacing at two to three feet from ground in Jagannaickpur area enroute from Jagannaickpur bridge to GMC Balayogi statue centre for a distance of two kilometres in the last leg of the total 8 kilometre project. This is in addition to the land acquisition issues involved in the temple area at Lord Siva and Vishnu temples enroute in this last two kilometre area.

Due to this problem, the ground cable laying has been diverted from Masjid centre enroute to Indrapalem irrigation department locks near district collectorate.

Kakinada divisional engineer Nallam Udaya Bhaskar said that as per the revised route, the project is now being extended between NTR statue in Sarpavaram junction to Indrapalem irrigation canal locks as per the directions of the district collector.

As part of ground cable network, we have removed the roadside electric poles from NTR statue to JNTU-K. In the second leg from JNTU-K to Anand theatre complex, the power poles erected on roadside will be removed by next few days, the DE said.