Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has launched an underground electricity wiring project in his native village Satoj as part of a plan to make Punjab the first state in India with pole-free villages. The plan seeks to shift overhead electricity lines underground to curb crop fires, prevent fatal accidents and ensure uninterrupted power supply in rural areas.
Laying the foundation stone for the pilot project, CM Mann said 384 electricity poles would be removed from Satoj and underground cables would be installed without digging up roads. The govt is looking to position the project, estimated to cost around Rs 8 crore, as a model for the rest of the country.
The event was attended by Cabinet ministers Harpal Singh Cheema and Tarunpreet Singh Sond, among others.
In his address at the event, Mann said Punjab was embarking on a historic initiative to free villages from the network of electricity poles and tangled overhead wires. He called the "Satoj Model" a roadmap for modern rural infrastructure and said the project would improve safety, aesthetics and electricity reliability in villages.
The project will involve the underground installation of seven kilometres of High Tension lines, 9.5 kilometres of Low Tension lines and 41 kilometres of service cables connecting nearly 800 households, the CM said. The existing network linked to the 66 KV Grid Satoj through three 11 KV feeders and 28 transformers will also be shifted underground, he added.
He said the project would use trenchless drilling technology to lay underground pipes nearly three feet below the surface, eliminating the need to dig roads. The shift is expected to reduce electricity leakage and transmission losses while ensuring uninterrupted supply during rainstorms and strong winds.
The chief minister spoke of the risks posed by overhead power lines, noting that accidents involving tractors and combine harvesters frequently occur in villages. He also recalled incidents in which three young men from Satoj died due to electric shocks linked to combine harvesters, calling the project a tribute to them and an effort to prevent similar tragedies in future.
Mann said underground wiring would also improve the visual appearance of villages by poles and hanging wires. He said that the initiative reflected the government’s broader push toward digitisation and infrastructure modernisation in Punjab.
