Tag: eco friendly

Kolkata parks to have India’s first carbon-neutral lighting

Posted on | by admin2 | Leave a Comment on Kolkata parks to have India’s first carbon-neutral lighting

The City of Joy is poised to become the first city in the country to have its public parks illuminated by an automated carbon-neutral solar lighting system, reducing the carbon footprint and electricity bills.

The new automated solar lighting system, first installed at Deshapriya Park on a trial basis, would now be extended to 28 other parks by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the custodian of the parks.

The unique part in this solar lighting system is that it is battery-less and connected with the power grid. An automatic control system has been put in place and the lights will be switched on automatically after evening and switched off in the morning.

The pilot project began earlier this year with Deshapriya Park where they have installed 50 solar electric posts having 180 Watt solar panels with LED lights. Earlier the electricity bill used to be Rs 17,000, but now it has come down drastically to less than Rs 2,000. That is 90 per cent savings. With this technology parks can be made 95 per cent carbon-neutral.

Parks under consideration for the project include prominent ones like Md Ali Park, College Square, Maddox Square and Subhas Sarobar Park.

When implemented, the project would result in monthly savings of lakhs of rupees in electricity bills, KMC MMIC Debashis Kumar said.

The system would also be useful for deployment in street lighting system as well as those on highways.

Inland waterways services proposed to be introduced along 12 Bengal rivers

Posted on | by admin2 | Leave a Comment on Inland waterways services proposed to be introduced along 12 Bengal rivers

A plan has been proposed to introduce inland waterways services along 12 rivers in West Bengal to reduce congestion on roads, the measure being fuel efficient, cost effective and eco-friendly.

Incidentally, the West Bengal Transport Dept had recently revamped the ferry service along the river Hooghly.

12 rivers that has been identified for national waterways, include the Allahabad-Haldia stretch of the Ganga Bhagirathi Hooghly river, Ajoy river, (96 km) Bakreswar Mayurakshi river (110 km) Damodar river (135 km), DVC canal, (130 km) Dwarekeswar river (113 km) Ichamati river (634 km) Jalangi river (131 km) Rupnarayan river (72 km), Subarnarekha river (314 km) and Sunderban Waterways (201 km). Adequate infrastructure for safe, convenient and sustained shipping operations through the waterways will soon be provided.

Transportation cost through waterways is 50 paise per km in comparison to Re.1 by rail and Rs.1.5 a km by roads. It has been proposed that dredging should be carried out in the rivers to make them navigable.

Inland waterways mode of transport has immense potential for domestic cargo transportation as well as for cruise, tourism and passenger traffic. Extent of development and prioritisation of inland waterways will be prepared after a feasibility study in this regard.

Eco-friendly buses to ply on Newtown roads

Posted on | by admin2 | Leave a Comment on Eco-friendly buses to ply on Newtown roads

Electric-run buses will soon hit the roads of New Town in Rajarhat and nearby important junctions, connecting the township to the city. After the official team led by the West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee, spotted this form eco-friendly transport in London the ideas have taken form and are soon to be executed.

A MoU has already been signed between Hidco and Coal India Limited to operate the electric bus services in the township. The introduction will be with three electric-run buses that will ply circular routes in New Town, Rajarhat. The routes will end in important points linking the city, such as Ultadanga, Karunamoyee, Chinrighata and Chinar Park. The pollution-free buses would not only help the environment, but it would also boost the public transport system in New Town. The township is being developed as a green smart city and the electric-run buses will pave the way for the initiatives.

The New Town Development Authority is also trying to introduce e-ricksaws in the township that will run on short routes; it will be an alternative to the conventional autos. A plan for monorail is on the cards. The aim is to establish a smart public transport system for the township, which will be developed into a smart city. It entails having a personalized rapid transit system where vehicles will be pollution free, battery operated and will move on short routes.

Nalban facelift gets underway

Posted on | by admin2 | Leave a Comment on Nalban facelift gets underway

The Nalban Food Park will look new within a few months. The state fisheries development corporation (SFDC) is working on a project worth Rs 1.67 crore to give the park a facelift with extension of the area, new lighting and seating arrangements and beautification of the water body in an eco-friendly way.

A development plan has been chalked out and a boundary wall has been set up, lighting and seating arrangements are being improved and eco-friendly toilets are being installed.

The project is being carried out towards the Sector V end of the Nalban bheri. No structural construction is being done since it falls under a wetland.

Earlier, the forest department, fisheries department and Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority conducted a survey, following which the beautification plan was cleared.

The overall plan is to develop the park as a tourist spot where visitors can spend time and have recreational activities. Keeping this in mind, the authorities even plan to develop it as a water park.

 

Image courtesy: Makemytrip.com

Green Energy for the City Lights

Posted on | by admin2 | Leave a Comment on Green Energy for the City Lights

In a constant effort to serve the public in the best possible way, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation takes another innovative step. As part of its multi-faceted, eco-friendly initiative, KMC has launched the country’s first ‘battery less, carbon neutral Solar Street Lights at one of the city’s favourite public place, the Deshapriya Park.

In the august presence of Sri Manish Gupta, Hon’ble MIC Power & Non-conventional Energy and other eminent personalities, Mayor Sovan Chatterjee inaugurated the path breaking project on 12th February, 2015.

Fifty solar electric posts have been set up at Deshapriya Park each of which will have an 180-watt LED based panel that is equivalent of 400 watts of sodium vapour electricity.

The solar panels will help generate electricity throughout the day and the generated power will be put into the grid. The LEDs will be lighted up with the generated power in the night. An automatic control system has been put in place and the lights will be switched on automatically after evening. It will be a carbon-neutral lighting. This project has been made with an estimated cost of Rs 40 lakh and is expected to bring down electricity bills for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.