By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 14 Oct: With the Diwali festival approaching fast, various government departments across the board have swung into action, and the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (Doon Nagar Nigam) has also taken up sanitation and street-light repairs on war footing. The Nigam has deployed ten dedicated teams, including on holidays, to carry out repairs of malfunctioning streetlights throughout the city. Approximately 500 complaints were registered during the monsoon season and, since then, these teams have been engaged in continuous repair work. The Corporation aims to resolve all pending complaints by the end of this week.
Not only this, in a bid to upgrade the city’s lighting infrastructure, the Nagar Nigam has submitted a proposal worth Rs 20 crores to the State Government. Of this, Rs 15 crores have been earmarked for the procurement of new streetlights, while the remaining amount of Rs 5 crores is intended for purchase of ancillary equipment. Upon approval of the proposal, the Corporation plans to replace streetlights in the older wards of the city.
Speaking to media persons in an informal interaction, Municipal Commissioner Namami Bansal confirmed that around 500 complaints had been received during the rainy season. In response, the Nagar Nigam activated all available teams, including on public holidays, to address the grievances. Given the festive season, additional lighting installations are required across the city, for which ten teams have been constituted. To prevent traffic congestion on certain flyovers while the repair is carried out, the repair work is being undertaken as early as 4 a.m. on the flyovers and other major roads. The Corporation is also maintaining coordination with other departments to ensure smooth execution.
She also shared that, so far, 7,663 streetlights have been repaired ahead of Diwali. Efforts are on to address the remaining complaints. She also confirmed that the tenders were floated and approximately 4,000 new lights were procured, most of which have already been installed. The remaining units are scheduled for installation within this week.
Bansal further stated that the 55,000 streetlights installed in the 60 old wards of the Nagar Nigam have surpassed their service life of five years. In view of this, a proposal has been forwarded to the government for their replacement. Once sanctioned, the new streetlights will be installed under the CCMS (Centralised Command Monitoring System) framework. This system will enable centralised monitoring of the lights, providing real-time data on functional and non-functional units, thereby facilitating prompt repair and maintenance.
