May 20, 2015: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation is installing 20000 LED street lights and in order to ensure glitch-free functioning of these lights, a GSM-based digital control room is being set up at the BMC-Bhawani Mall in Saheed Nagar to monitor their performance. A sim card fitted with a group of LED lights will be linked to the control room. This will enable operators at the control room to understand which of the lights are malfunctioning. Besides this, a grievance mechanism will also be incorporated for improved monitoring and better interface with the people.
A toll free landline number will be available for the general public by the end of this month, on which they can file complaints with respect to the LED lights installed in their respective areas.
While the LED lights are expected to offer better luminance, the expenses incurred on the energy bill for street lights is expected to go down by 80 per cent. At present the corporation pays Rs70-80 lakh every month on power bill alone. BMC deputy commissioner (projects and public relations) Srimanta Mishra was quoted by The Telegraph, “Our investment to install the energy-saving lights is zero. Therefore, the earnings from the savings will be shared between the Nasik-based company installing the lights and the corporation. However, if it’s found that the LED lights are not saving power, then there is provision to cut money from company’s share.”
The savings made by the corporation on a monthly basis will be split with the private company getting 90 per cent of the share and the civic body 10 per cent.
