Bandra, Santacruz, Khar to get new LED lights

Light-emitting diode (LED) street lamps illuminate a road in Langen, Lower Saxony, May 23, 2013. Light-emitting diodes are taking over public spaces, saving thousands of euros in energy costs, although the price will deter households from making the switch for some time. LEDs are up to eight times more efficient than incandescent bulbs used in most homes but are still at least 10 times as expensive. The more expensive a lamp, the longer it needs to burn to write off the price, so it is more viable to use them in streets and hospitals than in homes where lights are off more than on. The town of Langen on Germany's North Sea coast has done the sums and two years ago became the first in Europe to replace its 2,583 street lights with LEDs at a cost of 1.7 million euros ($2.2 million). The town now spends about 79,000 euros a year to run its street lights - more than 60 percent less than before. Picture taken May 23. To go with story ENERGY-EFFICIENCY/LED REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer (GERMANY - Tags: BUSINESS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) - RTX1076O

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now decided to replace over 80,000 street lights in suburban areas by the end of the financial year with LED lights.

BMC has taken the initiative to replace all the malfunctioning street lights in order to increase the illumination of streets. The initiative will be led by local MLA Ashish Shelar.

Talking about this initiative, Shelar said, "We will inaugurate the street light replacement ceremony on Tuesday. This will boost lux levels and also remove dark areas in Bandra, Khar, and Santa Cruz areas. I have been pursuing this matter with the BMC and Reliance Energy for past 18 months." Starting from Tuesday, BMC will replace street lights near Rangsharda in Bandra in the first phase.

Earlier it was reported by Times of India that most roads in Bandra, Khar, Santacruz, Linking Road and Hill Road were not properly illuminated according to a survey of over 284 roads in the suburban areas.

Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta said, "The colour of lights will remain unchanged but I have instructed officials that in case the lux level of a street light not being adequate, it should be enhanced." Mehta says the initiative will commence throughout the city and benefit in safety and regulations. Around Rs 28 crore had been allocated in the 2018-19 budget to replace the lights.

As per an energy department insider source, the project will be handled by Reliance Energy. The use of LED is expected to cut BMC's annual bill from Rs 164 crore to Rs 80 crore.