English: The optical telegraph system in India was first suggested in the early 1800s for military use. A survey line was to be set up between Calcutta and Chunar in Uttar Pradesh, and towers built along the route at different stations including Howrah, Hooghly, Purulia, Hazaribagh and Gaya along the Old Benaras Road or Military Road (later replaced by G.T. Road).

An account in Anton A. Huurdeman’s book Worldwide History of Telecommunications, states that there were as many as 45 semaphore towers built along the Calcutta-Chunar line. It is hard to say how many of those still remain, but about 18 have been located so far.

After limited use, with mounting costs, the Calcutta-Chunar line was abandoned as a failed project in 1828.

The photograph though taken in 2013 is included inside the photographs related to the Wiki exploration project - "Wiki explores Semaphore Towers - Phase 1" conducted in September 2022. This semaphore tower at Ramsagar has been struck by lightning and has broken down since long. The area was inaccessible during the project due to presence of a chest deep water filled canal in between. Drone photography is also not possible due to presence of several high tension pillars around. So old photographs of the Tower is submitted.