Raja Marga project leaves pedestrians groping in the dark
Lawrence Milton | Times News Network | Jan 28, 2019, 05:30 IST
Mysuru: But for the plight of hundreds of pedestrians who have no option but to walk in near complete darkness in Mysuru’s Central Business District (CBD), the whole situation would be ‘darkly’ humourous.
Raja Marga project was launched to ramp up the ‘Heritage’ appeal of the area surrounding Mysore Palace, and particularly the Dasara procession route by installing ornamental streetlight poles, but ironically none of these new lights have been provided electric connectivity plunging a vast part of the CBD in darkness!
In a textbook case of the best-laid plans going awry, the project, which on paper, appeared to be among the many initiatives undertaken by government agencies to enhance the city’s visual appeal, has ended up aggravating an existing problem in place of providing a more eye-pleasing solution. Although some of the older lamp poles remain on the road, most of them are switched off. The feeble glow emanating from the far-off lamps within the Mysore Palace is the only source of illumination for pedestrians in the area.
Ramesha, an auto driver who operates near the Palace, said that every Sunday witnessed traffic snarls since scores of people thronged the venue to catch sight of the illuminated structure, which besides its dazzling beauty, helped pedestrians navigate. “But, the lights are switched off most of the time and it is very dangerous, particularly after 8 pm,” he added.
Suresh J, a Nazarbad resident, also noted the irony of a brightly-lit Mysore Palace setting the dark streets outside in stark relief.
Raja Marga project was envisaged in 2010, and the aim was to install balustrades, rid the CBD of overhead cables, which were to be routed underground, besides replacing the old streetlight poles with ornamental ones and improving the existing pavements.
However, although work on the project commenced in ’10, it ran into rough weather soon after, with the matter reaching the courts, which put a stopper on the ambitious initiative, work on which had been progressing at snail’s pace to begin with. Now, the lack of adequate streetlights in this extremely busy pocket of the city has distressed pedestrians, motorists, and tourists.
Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) commissioner KH Jagadeesh admitted to the problem in the heart of the city and reaffirmed the civic agency’s commitment to finding a solution at the earliest. “We will make alternative arrangements soon. The matter is in court, and as a result, work on the installation of the ornamental poles has ground to a halt. We have carried out a survey on the possible cost of providing cable connections to the ornamental poles, and our estimates show that it could come up to Rs 50 lakh, which would be a burden on MCC” he told TOI.
Raja Marga project was launched to ramp up the ‘Heritage’ appeal of the area surrounding Mysore Palace, and particularly the Dasara procession route by installing ornamental streetlight poles, but ironically none of these new lights have been provided electric connectivity plunging a vast part of the CBD in darkness!
In a textbook case of the best-laid plans going awry, the project, which on paper, appeared to be among the many initiatives undertaken by government agencies to enhance the city’s visual appeal, has ended up aggravating an existing problem in place of providing a more eye-pleasing solution. Although some of the older lamp poles remain on the road, most of them are switched off. The feeble glow emanating from the far-off lamps within the Mysore Palace is the only source of illumination for pedestrians in the area.
Ramesha, an auto driver who operates near the Palace, said that every Sunday witnessed traffic snarls since scores of people thronged the venue to catch sight of the illuminated structure, which besides its dazzling beauty, helped pedestrians navigate. “But, the lights are switched off most of the time and it is very dangerous, particularly after 8 pm,” he added.
Suresh J, a Nazarbad resident, also noted the irony of a brightly-lit Mysore Palace setting the dark streets outside in stark relief.
Raja Marga project was envisaged in 2010, and the aim was to install balustrades, rid the CBD of overhead cables, which were to be routed underground, besides replacing the old streetlight poles with ornamental ones and improving the existing pavements.
However, although work on the project commenced in ’10, it ran into rough weather soon after, with the matter reaching the courts, which put a stopper on the ambitious initiative, work on which had been progressing at snail’s pace to begin with. Now, the lack of adequate streetlights in this extremely busy pocket of the city has distressed pedestrians, motorists, and tourists.
Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) commissioner KH Jagadeesh admitted to the problem in the heart of the city and reaffirmed the civic agency’s commitment to finding a solution at the earliest. “We will make alternative arrangements soon. The matter is in court, and as a result, work on the installation of the ornamental poles has ground to a halt. We have carried out a survey on the possible cost of providing cable connections to the ornamental poles, and our estimates show that it could come up to Rs 50 lakh, which would be a burden on MCC” he told TOI.
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