mumbai

Updated: Feb 15, 2018 01:14 IST

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will soon replace 908 existing streetlights in Andheri (West) with brighter ones.

According to civic officials, the project for better illumination on streets includes increasing the number of streetlights and increasing the intensity of existing ones.

“908 or 10 per cent of Andheri’s streetlights have 70-watt bulbs. Although these have the required brightness as per the rules, there are problems like trees covering the lamps. Under phase I of the project, we will be converting the 70-watt bulbs into 150-watt ones. New roads shall also get new and brighter streetlights,” said an official.

Addressing citizens’ complaints about unsafe areas, assistant municipal commissioner Prashant Gaikwad said, “We are conducting a survey of the entire Andheri/West ward to check which areas need more streetlights.”

The conversion would mean an increase of Rs25,000 in the monthly maintenance cost.

Legislator Ameet Satam, who has been working on the issue since years, said, “Last year, there was a 10-15 per cent increase in the number of streetlights in Andheri (W). Gilbert Hill road, Gulmohar road, JVPD scheme and areas in Amboli have dark patches and I have got complaints from there.”

Hansel D’souza, a local activist and a resident of Juhu, said that good lighting also ensures comprehensible CCTV footage.

“Currently, some are on during daytime and off during night time. Attaching daylight sensors will enable streetlights to turn on and off automatically, ensuring optimum usage throughout. The BMC should consider such technologies,” he said.

Officials said that the work order for replacement of streetlights will be placed in 15 days and it will take at least four months to complete the process.

For significant energy savings the BMC plans to convert more than 25,000 of its streetlights into LED (light emitting diodes) by March 31.