66K LED bulbs to light up city streets

Amritsar, October 18

The government will spend Rs 34 crore on the LED street light project under the Smart City Scheme in the holy city.

The Smart City Project Limited has hired a company to install 66,000 lights and provide maintenance for five years. The MC had initiated the project from the West constituency in August, but the work was moving at a slow pace due to the non-availability of lights. Officials claimed that as the company had got the lights, the work will be executed speedily and completed within six months.

Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu said a large number of LED lights had been replaced in various localities of the West constituency. The work of replacement of LED lights was going on in the East constituency. Mayor Karmajit Singh Rintu and MLA Sunil Dutti inaugurated the project in Ward Nos. 12 and 13 of the North constituency on Thursday.

Rintu said the work would be completed within six months. “No locality and street would be deprived of the streetlight. The company will assure the functioning of lights for the next five years. The MC will replace and install new LED lights at around 13,000 points in each constituency. According to information, there are 67,000 ordinary streetlights in the city.

“The MC pays around Rs 1 crore in electricity bills every month. Officials are expecting that the installation of LED lights will also reduce the bill amount. Streetlights are among the basic service, which the MC is bound to provide to residents. Ironically, the MC fails to provide such a basic service. With the installation of the LED lights, the MC can reduce expenses,” he added. — TNS