BSNL to lay fiber optic cable for 40-odd km from Munnar to Edamalakkudy; construction works launched on Friday for Project Citizen Connectivity
BSNL to lay fiber optic cable for 40-odd km from Munnar to Edamalakkudy; construction works launched on Friday for Project Citizen Connectivity
Edamalakkudy, the first tribal panchayat in the State, is all set to get proper network connectivity. According to officials, the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will lay fibre optic cable over 40 kilometres from Munnar to Edamalakkudy for the project, named Project Citizen Connectivity. It is an initiative by the BSNL and the Idukki district administration.
The BSNL set up a mobile communication facility at Edamalakkudy in 2015. The communication system was damaged by wild elephants’ attack in 2020 and the system was closed down. In November 2021, the State government approached the BSNL to set up optical connectivity to Edamalakkudy. The BSNL conducted a survey for the project and the Tribal department allotted ₹4.37 crore for it.
Devikulam Subcollector Rahul Krishna Sharma inaugurated the construction works of the project Devikulam on Friday. M.L. Chandrasekhar, DGM, BSNL Thodupuzha, said the fibre cable laying project would be completed before December 31. “The parallel mobile tower construction will be completed before January 31. Residents of tribal settlements in Edamalakkudy will get full network connectivity before March next year,” said Mr. Chandrasekhar.
Recalling Pettimudy
In this connection, officials recalled the landslide at Pettimudy that claimed 70 lives around 10.30 p.m. on August 6, 2020. The rescue team could reach the spot only after 11 a.m. on August 7 since the mobile network was disrupted due to the absence of a battery or inverter system in the mobile tower in the region. “When the project is completed, Pettimudy will also get proper network connectivity,” said Mr. Sharma.
Headquarters
The camp office of the Edamalakkudy grama panchayat is situated at Devikulam, 38 km away from the panchayat headquarters at Societykudy. The panchayat office has remained there since the formation of the grama panchayat in 2010, because of lack of mobile connectivity and other infrastructure inside the forest. Recently, the government decided to start the functioning of the panchayat from the base camp from January. “The connectivity will facilitate full-scale operation of the proposed panchayat headquarters,” said Mr. Sharma
