The Hindu 26.10.2013
Corporation to overhaul street lighting system
Staff Reporter
‘Project can be completed in a phased manner’
By allotting Rs. 5 crore a year the Coimbatore Corporation has planned to overhaul the street lighting system in the city.
Mayor
S.M. Velusamy announced the decision after a few councillors complained
that street lights in their localities did not glow for long and that
their complaints to the officials concerned had not yielded the desired
results.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Councillor A.
Nandhakumar, who started the debate, also said the recent rains, bad
roads and absence of street lights had compromised the safety of many a
motorist in the city. Soon All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Councillor S. Balan also joined him. He said that his ward residents too
were victims.
Ward offices
This
prompted the Mayor to ask why the maintenance of street lights should
not be reverted to ward offices. At present, the Corporation had
centralised and outsourced the same to contractors.
The
Corporation could fine the contractors or withhold their payment but
they would not serve the purpose. Was there an alternative, he asked the
City Engineer in-charge K. Sugumar.
The officer
replied that replacement of choke or bulb or any other part would only
serve limited purpose as problems would continue to recur for the entire
street lighting system was decades old. The best solution would be to
replace the system in toto.
Mr. Sugumar said that the
old city area – 60 wards – had 44,000-odd street lights and it would
require around Rs. 25 crore to replace the entire street lighting
system.
He also suggested that the Corporation could go in for the project in a phased manner to complete the work in a few years.
Taking
a cue, Mayor Mr. Velusamy said that Corporation would consider spending
Rs. 5 crore a year to revamp the entire street lighting system.
He also got the Council to pass a resolution in this regard.
The
Coimbatore Corporation has undertaken a similar project in this regard
for the added areas. At Rs. 20 crore the Corporation planned to replace
existing lights with new ones and also install new lights. The work is
in progress.
