India, May 20 -- Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Tuesday launched a pilot project to shift electricity wiring underground in his native village Satoj in Sangrur district, calling it the first step towards making Punjab the country's first state with "pole-free villages".

Under the project, around 41 kilometres of underground service cables, seven kilometres of high-tension lines and 9.5 kilometres of low-tension lines will be laid in the village at a cost of nearly Rs.8 crore. The project will also remove 384 electricity poles from the village.

Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone, Mann said the initiative would help prevent crop fires, electrocution incidents and power disruptions caused by overhead ele...