MAPUSA
LED bulbs will soon light up the streets of Mapusa, putting behind the agony of streets in darkness due to non-functioning of street lights in many areas in town.
Around 4,000 new LED fixtures will be installed in place of existing street lights in Mapusa, a power department official informed.
The tender to install the LED fixtures has been awarded to Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) which will also maintain the lights.
“The electricity department will have no headache to oversee the street lights in future, as EESL will look after the maintenance of the lights for next 10 years,” an electricity department official informed.
EESL will also be responsible to put the street lights on and off in future, the source added.
The inauguration of replacing the exiting street lights with LED fixtures in Mapusa will take place on September 10.
It may be recalled that Power Minister, Milind Naik had recently announced in the Assembly that work of replacement of existing light with LED fixtures in Goa was tendered at an estimated cost of Rs 90 crore.
The minister had also said that wherever required damaged electricity poles would be either repaired or new ones would be installed while installing the LED fixtures.
Meanwhile, residents of Cunchelim in Ward 1 and parts of Duler and Carraswaddo in Ward 3 complained about non-functioning of street lights for more than a fortnight now.
Locals from the area had to negotiate the streets in darkness at night especially during the Chaturthi festival.
Apart from the electricity department officials, councillors were also blamed for failing to look into the basic necessity of the locals.
An official from the electricity department told The Goan that bulbs on the street electricity poles in those areas have already been replaced and are functioning.
“We were awaiting the arrival of LED fixtures and that is why the replacement was delayed for some time,” the official said.
