Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to hire an energy auditor that will be responsible for checking the quality of streetlights on city stretches and take measures to increase or decrease their wattage, if required. It will also explore the option of installing new streetlights.
Sources said that the move came after the civic body received a series of complaints regarding the energy-efficient LED streetlight system in the city.Majority of the complaints stated that most of the lights were defunct.

“The streetlights should provide better illumination, but at most places, including several main arteries, the lights often don’t work. At several stretches, the lights are so dim that it is difficult to navigate,” Patia resident Keshav Sharma said.
Citizens also complained of flickering streetlights at many parts, including Smart Janpath. “It seems like disco lights on the roads. I had raised a complaint about the flickering lights on Janpath few days back. Thankfully, it was repaired after three days,” Unit III resident Namita Jena said. City mayor Sulochana Das said they are aware about the issues and are addressing them as soon as possible.
“We have been receiving complaints about defunct and flickering streetlights and are taking immediate steps to repair those,” she said. Das added that the motto behind engaging an energy auditor is to streamline the streetlight system in the city. “Improving the quality of life of our citizens is our primary agenda. This step of engaging the auditor will resolve all kinds related to the functioning of streetlights,” she said.
In 2013-14, civic body had initiated the process of replacing florescent bulbs with the energy-efficient LED ones and in a phased manner, the entire city was covered with LED streetlights by 2016-17.

We also published the following articles recently