British-era style lampposts light up Orange City Street

Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has begun replacing functional streetlight poles installed in 2018 with British-era styled heritage poles along the Orange City Street. The move, aimed at lending an old-world aesthetics to key stretches, sparked interest — and some debate — among residents.
The heritage-look poles are being installed along the central road divider from Radisson Blu Square to Jaitala Bazaar Chowk. A total of 147 cast-iron-style poles, each 8-metre-high, are replacing the more modern 9-metre-high galvanised iron poles. The Rs 3-crore makeover is being executed by NMC's electrical department with funding from Maharashtra govt.
"The idea is to create a distinct identity for Orange City Street, with a look reminiscent of British-era lampposts often seen in colonial towns," said a senior official from the department. "Though the poles installed in 2018 are in decent shape, they will not be discarded. We plan to reuse them in areas where poles are missing or rusted."
Currently, about 26 heritage-style poles are also being added from Jaitala Bazaar Square to Yashodara School—a previously unlit stretch.
Locals crisscrossing along the stretch welcomed the visual transformation but raised concerns over replacing poles that were only seven years old. "They could have simply installed these new ones in areas where there are no poles at all. But yes, these heritage-style poles really do beautify the stretch," said Mayuri Kadu, a Jaitala-based college student.
However, the streetlight installation has overlooked pedestrian safety, as the heritage-style poles are being erected only along the central road divider. Meanwhile, footpaths on both sides remain poorly lit, leaving walkers in the dark and increasing the risk of accidents and crime, especially during late evening hours.
Another resident, Anil Gawande, who commutes daily from Radisson Blu to Jaitala, said, "This part of the road now looks like something out of old Mumbai. The black ornamental poles with double lamps look classy and vintage. It's a good change, as long as public money is used wisely."
Some questioned the timing and necessity. "We have poles in the interior parts of the city that are rusted or broken, especially in Jaitala Basti and Pratap Nagar areas. Why not fix those first?" asked Vikrant Joshi, a resident of Pratap Nagar, pointing to the neglected condition of poles between Somalwar School and Swami Vivekananda Memorial.
NMC maintains that redistribution of the old poles will address such concerns. Areas identified for replacement include Jaitala Basti, the stretch from Pratap Nagar to Somalwar School, and Laxmi Nagar Square to Swami Vivekananda Memorial.
As of now, Nagpur has around 1.68 lakh LED-based streetlight poles citywide. The civic body incurs electricity expenses between Rs 2.52 crore and Rs 2.80 crore every month to maintain the network.
The installation of heritage-style poles is expected to be completed by April 14, in time for the new financial year. For NMC, the project is part of a broader strategy to combine functional infrastructure upgrades with aesthetic city planning.