BSNL to set up cable landing station in West Bengal

The Centre has asked BSNL to study the feasibility of setting up country's fourth submarine cable landing station on the eastern coast of Haldia in West Bengal.

In a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, Union Communications and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran said he had instructed BSNL for locating the cable landing station in West Bengal.

The feasibility study for the same would be completed after which work would be taken up in the next six months, the letter said.

The other three submarine cable landing stations are located in Mumbai, Chennai and Kochi. While VSNL had set up the stations in Mumbai and Kochi, the one at Chennai had been put up by Bharti.

The West Bengal government had been long pursuing for locating the fourth cable landing station at Haldia with both the NDA and UPA governments.

Principal Secretary in the state IT department G D Gautama told PTI that with West Bengal getting the cable landing station, IT and ITeS companies located in the entire eastern and north-east reagion would get tremendous boost.

He said the cost of connectivity of IT and ITeS companies in the region would be down by 10 per cent to 25 per cent.

According to him, West Bengal would become a more attractive destination for the companies working in the IT area.

Some of the big names which were already working in the IT and ITeS space in West Bengal were TCS, IBM, Cognisant, HSBC, PwC, Wipro, Genpact and Mahindra BT. Satyam is also expected to commence operations soon.

Besides this, Maran had said the government was working on the feasibility of a terrestrial cable route from India to Malaysia via Myanmar and Thailand, which will serve the entire eastern and north-east region of India.

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