MCG to install 734 LED streetlights on Gurgaon Faridabad Road from next week

Starting next week, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) is set to install 734 LED streetlights on the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, officials said on Saturday.

The stretch has been without streetlights since July 2012, when the state highway was widened from two to four lanes and its streetlights removed to widen the carriageways.

MCG officials said they hired a private contractor to install LED streetlights on both sides of the 11.1km stretch between Khushboo Chowk and the Gurgaon-Faridabad toll plaza.

“All the necessary equipment to install streetlights has been procured. We were looking to start the work Sunday onwards, but due to the ongoing rains, the task has been postponed by three or four days. Weather is expected to be clear Tuesday onwards, and the installation process is likely to commence then,” Raman Yadav, executive engineer, electrical division, MCG, said.

Yadav said that to install streetlights, it was vital that the upper layer of soil was not extremely wet or loose.

“The problem with wet soil is that fixing poles becomes difficult as the topsoil is extremely loose. Besides, we do not want to carry out any electric works during the rain, since rainwater is a bad conductor of electricity. Hence, we are waiting for a dry spell, after which work will be initiated immediately,” Yadav said.

Yadav said that the project would cost ₹1.5 crore and is expected to be completed within two months.

He further said that the MCG would not be initiating any streetlight-related work ahead of the toll plaza, as the remaining portion of the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road in Faridabad falls under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF).

In January, the MCG’s finance and contract committee (F&CC) had given its approval to the project, and in March, the MCG had finalised a private contractor for the task. Officials said due to the model code of conduct for the 2019 general elections, work was put on hold for three months.

The lack of lighting has also been a major cause of accidents. As per Haryana Vision Zero (HVZ) officials, there are two black spots on the 11.1 km stretch. A 500-meter stretch is termed as a black spot when more than 10 road fatalities have been recorded there during the last three calendar years.

Sarika Panda Bhatt, a programme coordinator with HVZ, said that analysis of road accidents in Gurugram in 2016, 2017 and 2018 led to the identification of two black spots on the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road.

“The stretch connecting the two cities as well as providing a gateway to New Delhi witnesses a high volume of vehicular movement, including that of heavy commercial vehicles. One of the black spots on the stretch is located at the turn towards Ghata, and the other is near the toll on the Gurugram side. At both these points, more than 10 fatalities have been recorded in the past three years. The primary reason for these fatal accidents is the lack of proper illumination. The installation of streetlights has been a major requirement for the last seven years,” Bhatt said.