Another wasteful plan for Purbachal

Power distribution and Internet lines are being drawn overhead in Purbachal New Town, the government's biggest planned township in Dhaka, although there was a plan for an underground cable system for it.

There has been an effort to remove cables dangling from roadside poles from the eyesight for the beautification of cities and authorities are already taking cables underground in some other places in the capital and other divisional cities.

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, which is implementing the Purbachal project, said it was installing cables in Purbachal overhead because of a fund crisis.

"We have plans to set up an underground cable system which is very costly. Rajuk has been thinking of implementing an underground project with a separate budget," said Mohammad Bodiul Alam, project manager at Rajuk.

Experts say it will be a waste of taxpayers' money if the authorities build an underground system after having installed overhead cables.

They should revise the project plan right now as the township is still under construction, said Musleh Uddin Hasan, head of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).

Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd (Desco), one of the six power distribution companies, will supply electricity to the Purbachal New Town project. It has already transferred its 132KV distribution lines.

Desco Managing Director Kausar Ameer Ali said overhead cables were being drawn to supply electricity to people who had already started living there.

"We wanted to establish an underground system. But due to the fund crisis, Rajuk asked us to set up overhead cables," he said.

Meanwhile, the project cost jumped by 135% to Tk7,782 crore.

The Purbachal township with more than 25,000 residential plots on 6,150 acres of land will have a demand for 1,103MW electricity once it comes into full operation.

A source at Rajuk said it had set aside only Tk160 crore for the installation of power distribution lines.

Photo: Mumit M/TBS

Desco conducted a feasibility study in 2017 with Byucksan Power Co Ltd, and Engineers and Consultants Bangladesh Ltd for a detailed design of an underground electricity network in the Purbachal project.

They projected that around Tk6,000 crore would be needed to construct an underground power system in the targeted areas.

Rajuk then asked the power distribution company to set up an overhead system within the budget.

As of now, it has disbursed only Tk50-60 crore for electricity lines.

Sources at Desco said power cables had been set up in more than half of 30 sectors in total. In the rest of the areas, poles are being built.

Zulfiquar Tahmid, chief engineer (Planning and Design) at Desco said the infrastructure put in place had the capacity to supply around 150MW of electricity.

However, the maximum consumption at present is only 5MW.

Tk6,000 crore proposal for underground power connection

Based on the feasibility study report, Desco prepared and sent a proposal to the power ministry last year for an underground power supply project.

Desco officials said the proposal was under consideration but it had got stuck due to Covid restrictions and economic slowdown.

Overhead Internet supply in Purbachal town

Internet cables are also being pulled overhead in Purbachal.

Emdadul Hoque, secretary general of the Internet Service Providers Association Bangladesh, said underground Internet service was not possible without utility duct infrastructure.

"Rajuk has to develop a utility duct system for underground Internet and power supply. Without such infrastructure, how will we take our cables underground?"

Power distribution and Internet lines are being drawn overhead in Purbachal New Town – at a time when there has been an effort to remove cables dangling from roadside poles from the eyesight to beautify cities.

The authorities are already taking electricity and Internet cables underground in some other places in the capital and other divisional cities.