Solar lamps to be installed on an “accident-prone”, five-km stretch near Calcutta
Debasish Chattopadhyay, Calcutta
Source: Telegraph India
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070917/asp/calcutta/story_8317180.asp
Solar lamps will be installed on an “accident-prone”, five-km stretch of the EM Bypass, from Chingrihata to Parama Island. “The lamps, 40 have been planned initially. will be of great help to motorists who negotiate the stretch almost in the dark after sunset. The situation gets worse during monsoon,” said S.P. Gonchowdhury, the director of the West Bengal Renewable Energy Agency (WBREDA), which has taken up the project.
Six persons were killed and a dozen were injured in a spate of accidents on the stretch in the past six months. Gonchowdhury said the power department will not have to pay the bill for the solar lamps, which will glow even during power cuts. “There will be no power wastage, as the lamps will automatically start glowing as soon as the sun sets and will be switched off during sunrise.”
The project will cost Rs 18 lakh, of which the Centre has sanctioned Rs 12 lakh. For the rest, the WBREDA will approach the fisheries department. “We hope the fisheries department will grant the amount, as it will benefit from the project. We have plans to illuminate Captain Bheri, which falls on the way,” Gonchowdhury added.
“We are consulting websites before finalising the design of the lamp posts and the lamps, which will serve to decorate the area,” he pointed out.