For the first time in the city South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is planning to replace conventional streetlights at busy markets with solar LED lights that will have inbuilt batteries to provide backup for three days.
This means that the lights wont stop functioning even during rain, said a senior SDMC official. This project is part of the beautification work being carried out by the corporation at prominent south Delhi markets. A senior official said the solar lights will not only save energy and revenue but will also stop electrocution incidents. As no wires will be laid and no electricity will be provided, these solar LED cant be troublesome or dangerous during rain. Also,these lights will also not be affected by any weather extremities and life of each battery will be 6 years, said a senior SDMC official.
The civic agency plans to install these solar lights at poles made of reinforced plastic, which is a bad conductor of electricity, instead of conventional poles made of galvanized iron, which is a good conductor of electricity. These poles are totally non-corrosive material, have good strength and dont need replacement for a longer time, said the official.
On a pilot basis, SDMC plans to install 120 solar LED lights at 90 fiber reinforced plastic poles at Janakpuri District Center. The total cost of the project will be around Rs. 1 crore. Janakpuri sees a lot of people every day. So for the crowded areas like that these poles are better than conventional streetlights, which lead to electrocution incidents and short circuits during rain because of open boxes and wires attached to them, said the officials.
He added, With the implementation of the project at Janakpuri District Center, SDMC aims to save 23,650 units of electricity per year and revenue of Rs 1.75 lakh per annum. Based on the success of this project, the corporation will implement the same model at other busy market places.
Under its beautification drive, the civic agency is installing street furnitures such as benches and lights, and also repairing boundary walls, public toilets and pavements to make them disabled friendly.