Bhubaneswar: The civic body will light up 62 dark stretches in the city with LED bulbs in what promises to be the biggest-ever street light installation project covering 78km.

The project, which will take a month to complete, began this week. It is part of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation's second-phase LED street light installation drive, under which it plans to install 6,000 energy efficient bulbs in various parts of the city. The authorities have already installed around 35,000 LED bulbs to light up various stretches.

Sources said major areas in the southwest and north zones would be covered in the second phase. "We have identified the stretches that need lights. Five of these are in the southeast zone, 34 in the southwest and another 23 in the north," said a civic official.

Among the important stretches identified for the project are Bhubaneswar Club to Capital Hospital, Ekamra Park to Biju Patnaik College, Indradhanu Market to Hotel Crown, NH-5 to Kalinga Vihar, Vipul Garden to Kalinga Heritage, Damana to Gadakana and several inner lanes of Sailashree Vihar and Niladri Vihar.

The second phase installation will be taken up by Neev Energy, the partner engaged by the civic body for the project. "The areas mainly include the inner lanes of various localities, some of which are now lit up by mercury bulbs, while some others do not have any at all," said the official.

"We have calculated the consumption and energy bill load on the civic body. The consumption will be around 309kW (kilowatt), incurring an energy bill amount of approximately Rs 6 lakh a month," said the official.

Besides, the civic body has also directed the councillors to identify dark stretches in their respective wards and submit a report before the council in a month to expand the project. "The project is being taken up under the state government's Unnati scheme," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

He said low-light areas would be identified, and those would get the LED bulbs. "This time, the lights will be minimum of 70watt in each location and replace the low-power bulbs for more lighting. Lights will be installed in each locality under our jurisdiction," he said.

Residents of Kalinga Vihar and Sampur, among the areas to benefit, have welcomed the move. "They have widened the roads, but forgot to put up street lights. Taking advantage of the dark stretches, criminal have made those area their dens. Besides, accidents are rampant because of the absence of street lights," said Sampur resident Parvathi Ojha.