Soon, solar lights to keep Gurugram parks lit during outages

According to MCG officials, Gurugram receives adequate sunlight on more than 300 days in a year, which makes tapping into solar energy easy.

Parks in Gurugram will remain well-lit despite power outages, as the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has decided to install solar lights, in addition to LED streetlights, in and around them. The MCG has already started surveying parks in sectors 30-56 to install solar lights as well as LED streetlights. The work is expected to commence in January 2019, MCG officials said.

MCG has started surveying parks in sectors 30-56 of Gurugram to install solar and LED streetlights. (HT File / Representational Photo)

“Like most condominiums, which have power backup, the MCG is looking to ensure that public spaces remain lit even during power outages. We have decided to install solar lights and LED streetlights to ensure there is continuous illumination,” Lalit Jindal, executive engineer of the MCG, said.

There are 529 parks in the city, of which 377 are maintained by RWAS and 152 by the MCG, officials said.

As part of a project with Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), the MCG has installed around 57,000 LED streetlights in the city since December 2017. MCG officials said they are looking to install 18,000 more LED streetlights in the city. Around 4,000 of these will illuminate parks, where around 1,000-1,200 solar lights will also be installed, they said.

Arora said that initially the MCG will focus on installing solar lights in public parks and subsequently move towards providing coverage on the streets.

According to MCG officials, the city receives adequate sunlight on more than 300 days in a year, which makes tapping into solar energy easy. Aside from being non-polluting, the operational and maintenance costs are 30%-40% lower than electric lights, MCG officials said.

Dark stretches have been a major cause of concern in the city, and the rise in crime is often attributed to a lack of proper lighting on the streets.

In June, a Gurugram police study had found that most street crimes, such as carjacking, robbery and snatching, take place between 6pm and 11pm in the city. Police officers maintained that unlit stretches were a key factor in the crimes taking place.

During an environment conclave held in June 2017, officials revealed that the city’s power demand was increasing by 10% annually; however, there was a 25% deficit in demand leading to 10-12 hour-long outages during the summer.

In the same conclave, officials had revealed that the city’s daily power demand was 1300 MW per day on average, with a daily shortage of 350 MW.

Residents, too, hoped that MCG provided solar lights in their areas at the earliest.

“During the summer, power outages are common, and in the night, walking from my car to my home often becomes a scary proposition as I have to cross several dark stretches. I am hoping that the MCG and residents’ welfare associations jointly execute this project as the latter will be familiar with the dark spots,” Ambika Malik, a resident of Sushant Lok Phase 1, said.