Recently, LED (light emitting diode) street lamps lit up a street in the city. Ashok Gowda, CEO, Onleo Global Solutions, LED lights as the Gen Next light, driven by green technology, at the formal inauguration of 10th Main, Sadashivnagar LED street lamps on Saturday. It is an initiative taken up by the residents of 10th main, in ‘developing group consciousness’.

LED street lights have a 100W power capacity and can last up to 8-10 years and it is equivalent to a 250W conventional street light of mercury/sodium that lasts for a maximum of six months.

Although LED lights are comparatively priced higher than the regular street lamps, it is low in maintenance and is cost effective. The lights installed at 10th Main are at the height of 12 and a half feet from ground level and placed at distance of 10 m from each other, “so that you have light on the street and not on the trees,” said Gowda.

“This gives a sense of belonging for the people who stay here,” said Srinivas Raju, 10th Main resident and a believer in green technology. LED lights do not contain led or any chemicals, these lights are bio-degradable and can be easily disposed, added Raju.

According to resident Sreekala Kadidal, the LED street lamps will help in good tree management, as the lights will be at a distance from the trees.

Although a huge investment for the BBMP, as each of these LED lights would cost Rs 15,000 approximately, it is good because it will not only resolve global warming but make better and more responsible citizens, said Ashok Narayan, MLA, Sadashivnagar. An investment of Rs 3 lakh was made for these particular lights on 10th Main.

The LED street lights have been proposed by the BBMP in different areas of the city, said Narayan. “We need to work in unison and not isolation,” he added.