KOCHI: Faulty streetlights in the city have been troubling commuters and local residents for a week now. Installed by the Cochin Smart Mission Ltd (CSML), the streetlights are not operational in many areas, including in Thammanam and near the JLN Stadium. Officials said the work to install panel boards is in progress and is expected to be completed soon.
The leader of opposition in Kochi corporation, Antony Kureethara, said the contract to install LED streetlights in the city was awarded to Lighting Technology in November 2023.
“The work was supposed to be completed within seven months. Now, the company and the Kerala State Electricity Board are blaming each other and claiming that there are no faults in the installation of the LED lights. Due to the inefficiency of the company’s operations, the streetlights on the Thammanam-Pullepady road and other important areas, which are heavily congested, have not been operational for the past seven days,” he said.
Seena Gokul, public works standing committee chairperson, said steps are being taken to solve the issue.
“The CSML and the company have informed us that the installation of the panel board will be completed before the 30th of this month. We are also holding review meetings. Once the installation of the panel board is completed, the issue can be solved,” she said.
Kureethara asked the company to ensure the quality of the panel boards. “When we enquired with the company, their stand was that there were faults in the electric line and that KSEB should fix it. KSEB claims there is no fault in the line. When we inspected, it was found that all the lights in that particular area were faulty.
The panel boards are installed to prevent the lights from being damaged due to short circuits. The company should check and ensure the quality of the panel boards. The only work done is that the LED lights have been replaced with new models under the Pan City Smart LED project,” he said.
The repair and renovation related to LED streetlights in the city take time as the coordination of multiple departments and officials is required. “Now, if a streetlight is not functioning, we need to inform KSEB officials as well as the company to repair it. We can start the repair only if officials from both entities are present. We decided to install panel boards considering these issues,” Seena added.