June 19, 2024:
As soon as Shri Praveen Khandelwal assumed office as the MP of the Chandni Chowk area in Delhi, he began fulfilling the promises made during his election campaign. As a significant initiative to address the hanging electric wires in every street of the Chandni Chowk area, he organized an important meeting today at National Club, Fatehpuri. Present at the meeting were senior and experienced electrical engineer and former Executive Director of Power Grid Corporation, Mr. B.S. Pandey, and his team, along with representatives from the trade associations and RWAs of all areas of the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency.
The main objective of this meeting was to find a swift solution to the hanging electric wires in Chandni Chowk. The biggest challenge in this task is the narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk and completing the work without disrupting the continuous commercial activities.
Addressing the meeting, Mr. Khandelwal said, “During my election campaign, I promised to replace these wires through underground cabling or suitable wiring. As a step towards fulfilling this promise, I organized this meeting to prepare a roadmap for freeing every street from hanging wires without harming commercial activities and without inconveniencing people. These wires were installed decades ago, considering the electricity usage at that time, and now they are under several times more load. The major problem is that the coating on these weak wires has worn off in many places due to the increased load, creating a risk of breakage. Consequently, the hanging electric wires in Old Delhi markets are a constant threat to life and property and are a direct or indirect cause of frequent fire accidents. It is crucial to eliminate this grave problem, and I will resolve it soon.”
Mr. Khandelwal mentioned that various suggestions were received during the meeting, but there was a consensus that it is now necessary to eliminate these hanging wires. Based on today’s discussions, former Executive Director of Power Grid Corporation, Mr. B.S. Pandey, and his team will prepare a project report incorporating the suggestions received. This report will propose multiple options, and Mr. Khandelwal will present it to the Delhi government to find a permanent solution to this problem.
On this occasion, Mr. Pandey said that the report would include practical suggestions based on the ground reality and the geographical situation of the area, as well as the ongoing commercial and residential activities. While preparing the report, all available options, including underground cabling, will be considered to provide easy and disruption-free solutions to eliminate these wires.