GMC begins work to illuminate city streets

Guwahati: The Gauhati Municipal Corporation (GMC) is working on a project to light up the city’s streets and roads.
The civic body has taken over the project from the public works department (PWD). It has initiated a series of steps to address a longstanding concern of the residents and work in major parts of the city has been completed.
Currently, GMC is working to install lights in 20 important streets of the city.It will also install 12 high mast lights in prominent locations of Guwahati, following a directive from the chief secretary. It has begun replacing the old ones after proper inspection.
The GNB Road (from Noonmati flyover to District Library, including Chandmari flyover) will get high mast lights. MG Road (from Planetarium to Bharalu bridge), T R Phukan Road and Athgaon overbridge, AT Road (from Bharalu bridge to Dunlop bridge), GS Road, GMCH Road, Panjabari Road, RG Baruah Road, Tripura road, Mother Teresa path and Danish Road are among the 20 streets selected for new lights.
Work on GS Road, MG Road and TR Phukan Road began in the first week of August and considerable progress has been made, said GMC commissioner S Viswanathan. He added that it will be completed within two months.
The GMC has already installed mast lights in Basistha Mandir, Panbazar flyover, Guwahati club rotary, Adabari bus terminus and Narengi.
The scheme will cover 134 lanes. The total expense for the project has been fixed at Rs 25.27 crore and a proposal has been sent to the state government in this regard.
The interior areas of the city and its fringes should also be adequately illuminated to avert theft and other anti-social activities, said a senior citizen.
“Several times, we have found that miscreants take full advantage of the dimly-lit streets to carry out their activities,” said Sanjay Seal, a resident of Kahilipara.
According to a survey done by a city-based NGO, North East Network (NEN), women are mostly attacked along the darker patches of the city owing to broken street lights.
The survey, conducted last year on 1,045 women, says 51% of such cases take place due to poor lighting in Guwahati.