Calcutta: The state government will build dedicated conduits by the roadside for cables to pass through them, urban development minister Firhad Hakim told Metro on Thursday.

The conduits will not be underground. "We will build dedicated conduits by the roadside in municipality areas under the Green City Mission for cables that hang from lamp posts to pass," Hakim said.

It was not clear whether the plan includes areas under the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC).

Mayor Sovan Chatterjee had said on Thursday that he has scheduled a meeting with multi-system operators (MSO), cable TV operators and Internet service providers next week to draw up a plan for the CMC areas.

Both actions come in the wake of an accident involving Mohammad Tausib Alam, 18, who died after his motorbike got entangled in a heap of cables left lying by the roadside on No. 4 bridge in Park Circus on Monday.

The modalities regarding where and how the conduits would be built are yet to be worked out, sources in the government said.

While there may be some road space available in other municipality areas, it would impossible in the city.

"Most pavements in Calcutta have been taken over by hawkers. Where will the civic body find space to build conduits?" asked a government official.

Overhead cables are not only an eyesore but also pose a risk to pedestrians.

"I will seek the opinion of MSOs and cable operators. We will give them a few options about how to avoid the problem. I hope a solution will emerge from the meeting," mayor Chatterjee said.

Metro visited crossings across the city and found that nothing had changed.

At Esplanade's Lenin Sarani-CR Avenue crossing, a thick mesh of cables continues to hang for years.