September 17, 2013
KMC lights up the Kolkata evenings – An exclusive survey by AITMC NEWS Bureau
Kolkata is being beautified. No questions about it. Gone are the days of smelly unhygienic vats at different points of the road. Gone are the days when people were scared to walk up certain locales infamously dark for non-functioning lights. Even the Dhakuria lakes, once den of illegal activities, have been purified as the true lungs of the South Kolkata and a walkers` paradise, not just in the morning, but also in the evenings.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) led by Trinamool Congress, with able guidance from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has done wonders to light up the city. Not only did they try to maintain ecology by stressing on solar power, they did a proper planning and timelined execution of the works.
As an energy conservation measure, KMC is implementation a process where CFL and other parks lights will remain `off` after 10 p.m., and only `SOLAR lights` will operate for rest of the night. For this purpose, SOLAR light posts are being installed at different parks. A pilot project for LED light installation at 273 no. street lighting poles, has been completed.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has undertaken various initiatives to upgrade the street lighting system. On one hand, it is implementing eco-friendly street lights and on the other hand, it is installing decorative lights for beautification. The aim is to ensure scientific and proper illumination planning in order to bring Kolkata on par with some of the best cities in the world.
The Lighting & Electricity Department of the KMC has been implementing the city beautification programme through installation of Trident Light with energy efficient CFL lamps. This programme has been taken up & has been done partly or completely in different main thoroughfares, roads and streets of the city of Kolkata, at places like R. B. Avenue, Southern Avenue, Harish Mukherjee Road, D. L Khan Road, A.P.C. Road, Vivekananda Road, Kalighat Road adjacent to Temple, D. H. Road, James Long Sarani, C.G.R. Road way to Soloana Masjid, S. N. Banerjee Road, Lenin Sarani, B. B. Ganguly Street and many other areas including the bank of river Ganga.
As a part of city beautification initiative, the facade of the Kalighat Temple has been lit using LED lights. The fascinating aspect of these lights is that they change colour in a few seconds. This is a first of its kind lighting system introduced by KMC and can be cherished throughout the year during evening hours from outside the Kalighat temple. Permanent illumination and beautification of different city parks through lighting arrangement has been an important initiative under the ambit of the KMC Lighting Department. Lighting arrangement at Jatin Moitra Park has been a noteworthy achievement.
Various initiatives have been undertaken for Temporary Lighting arrangements for different occasions – like (i) Immersion ghat illumination during Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Chat Puja etc. (ii) KMC buildings, Borough Offices, markets, Park and Square and water bodies (recently Lal Dighi) on different important days like Christmas, 26th January, 15th August, Muharram and other days from time to time (iii) Facades of Temples, Masjid, Mazar, Burial Ground in the evening on different important occasions.
KMC also took initiative to isolate the area of the part of the Mahasamsan at Cossiepur where `Param Purus Ramkrishna` was cremated by shifting the wooden pyre. A separate way has been constructed for passage to Ramkrishna Samadhi Prangan, a place being developed for innumerable devotees, often visiting the place on memorable days like 1st January every year (i.e. Kalpataru Utsav) & other days of the year.
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