Minister for Excise and Labour T.P. Ramakrishanan declared the completion of the first phase of Kozhikode Corporation’s project to convert all street lights into LED lights on Tuesday. The project, being implemented by Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS) has covered most parts of the city to ensure complete conversion to LED.
The maintenance of the street lights in the city has been a constant headache for the Kozhikode Corporation over the years. But the contract with KEONICS includes 10 years of maintenance, which takes a major burden off the Corporation’s shoulders.
The plan for LED conversion began in 2017, when the Corporation tried to rope in Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS) for the purpose. ULCCS had identified around 36,000 lamp poles in the city in a survey then, but the project was later dropped due to technical reasons. It was in 2019 that the Corporation joined hands with KEONICS, which made the lowest bid in the tender floated for the purpose.
However, the survey by KEONICS identified many more poles, some even in unchartered territories. While the initial contract was to complete the conversion of 39,600 poles, the number was later raised to 56,431 poles. In the first phase, conversion of 42,600 poles have been completed.
Corporation Secretary Binu Francis said the project was beneficial to the civic body in many ways due to several penal provisions in the contract. Each of the poles is equipped with a Central Control Monitoring System (CCMS), which enables a centralised control unit to monitor the working of every lamp round-the-clock. The company is bound to repair any faulty lights within 48 hours and to pay a penalty for every 1% of lights that do not function. The project is expected to save annual energy expenditure for street lights by 54%. Besides, a toll-free number is available on the poles for the public to file their complaints regarding the lights.
The Secretary said CCMS had been set up in more than 70% of the street lights in the city.
Meanwhile, the Opposition councillors have flayed the declaration on the grounds that the conversion has not been completed and the move was an eyewash in view of the forthcoming local body polls. They staged a protest in front of the Tagore Centenary Hall on Tuesday while the declaration event was in progress.
