Conserving power the Palike way

BANGALORE: While the country is grappling with energy crisis, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is also eager to do their bit in conserving energy. The Palike has banned the installation of any high mast lamp poles in the city. According to a Palike official,  the BBMP has banished these lamps only this year. Meanwhile another executive engineer on the condition of anonymity said that the status on the high mast lights have been the same since former BBMP commissioner, Bharath Lal Meena’s time.There are approximately 1,500 such lamps that have been spread across the city. Each zone has almost 240 such lights each. The collective efforts by all the zonal in charges may not just see a dip in the Palike’s existing power bills, it will also reduce the amount of power consumed by the civic body. “The idea of these lamps is to provide sufficient illumination. However, we are in the process of disconnecting these lamps in areas where streetlights are capable of providing adequate amount of light. We are either going to disconnect the lamp completely or use only half the number of bulbs in the lamp pole,” informed the engineer on the condition of anonymity.According to the need and requirement, the poles are fitted with combinations of four, six, eight or ten, 250 watt to 400 watt bulbs. While the engineer did seem to oppose the idea of high mast light poles, he did not dismiss it completely. “If at all there is a dire requirement for these lights, we will ask the joint commissioner of the concerned zone to visit, investigate and assess the need of these lamps,” he informed.However, the engineer also revealed that the Ulsoor traffic police has requested the Palike to install two more high mast lights - near the Ulsoor Gurudwara and the other near Phillips’s building. “They submitted the proposal approximately two months ago, but we are yet to take a decision,” he said.