Newly-installed street lights on a Berhampur road. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy

Berhampur, July 7: Berhampur Municipal Corporation has drawn up a plan to give a facelift to the street lighting system of the city.

“We have prepared an estimate of Rs 2.5 crore for three years to improve the street lighting system in the city. We have already spent Rs 1 crore,” the corporation’s assistant engineer (mechanical) Sukant Kumar Sabat told The Telegraph.

The city has 8,000 street lights and the civic body is gradually improving the system by replacing the old ones with decorative lights.

“High mast lights were introduced in the city in 1993. There are high-mast lights now at five places — Kamapalli, Engineering School Square, Bijipur, Gate Bazar and Tata Benz Square. We have proposed to install high-mast lights at 13 more places,” said Sabat.

The identified sites for installation of these lights are Gosaninuagaon Square, Gopabandhu Square near Bijipur, PVN Petrol Pump Square, Rukmini Cinema Hall Square, City Hospital Road, Aska Road first Gate Square, Utkal Cinema Hall Square, Khallikote College Square, Courtpeta Square near Jagannath temple, Ambapua near Bibek Bihar, Corporation Road Junction, Gandhi Nagar Junction and Old Bus Stand.

The civic body has fitted sodium vapour lamps on the stretch from Old Bus Stand to Church Road, Kamapalli to Engineering School Square, Gate Bazar to Aska Road 1st Gate Square. Besides, 50 light emission diode lights have been put in place on the stretch from Courtpeta to New Bus Stand and Lanjipalli High School to Bypass Road. It has also proposed to work out on the lighting system at Biju Patnaik Vending Zone.

A Rs 15 lakh hydraulic access platform mounted on a mini truck to replace defunct street lights has been purchased.

“Earlier, we had two manual aluminium ladders to carry out the job with a maximum height of four meters. These were difficult to transport from one place to another and were not tall enough. But the new hydraulic access platform we have procured can reach to a height of 11 meters. We are planning to procure two more of these with lesser height-limits mounted on smaller vehicles since one is not sufficient for the entire city. Smaller vehicles can also enter narrow lanes,” the civic body’s junior engineer (mechanical) Prabhakar Panigrahi said.

“The city will have a new look with the improvised street lighting system,” said Jyotsna Nayak, councillor of the corporation’s ward No. 34.