Correct Option: A

In 1850, the first experimental electric telegraph line was started between Kolkata and Diamond Harbour. In 1851, it was opened for the use of the British East India Company. Subsequently, the construction of 6,400 km of telegraph lines connecting Kolkata (then Calcutta) and Peshawar in the north along with Agra, Mumbai (then Bombay) through Sindwa Ghats, and Chennai (then Madras) in the south, as well as Ootacamund and Bangalore was started in November 1853. William O’Shaughnessy, who pioneered the telegraph and telephone in India, belonged to the Public Works Department, and worked towards the development of telecom throughout this period.