KOCHI: Installation of streetlights on NH 966A had been completed at a cost of Rs 7.78 crore, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said in Parliament recently.
He was responding to the question raised by Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden on the progress and assessment of the street lighting project on NH 966A/Container Terminal Road.
“The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said in its reply that it is awaiting connection from the KSEB and expects to receive it by the end of July. Streetlights have been installed in accordance with the board’s standards, the standards of the Indian Roads Congress, a leading technical guideline body, and best practices,” Gadkari said.
Hibi said the new initiative would significantly reduce the number of accidents in the area. “When I started as the MP in 2019, road accidents and deaths, and antisocial activities were rampant in the area at night due to the absence of street lights. We had been meeting Minister Gadkari and NHAI authorities regularly to raise the issue. I also raised it twice in the Lok Sabha,” Hibi added.