After having dilly-dallied for four years in installing lights on Container Road (NH 966A) that links Bolgatty Island and Kalamassery, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is getting ready to light up the highly accident-prone corridor.
Accidents, most of them involving motorists who ram haphazardly parked container lorries, were the norm in the 16-km corridor, especially during night hours. This was apart from crimes and rampant dumping of truck loads of garbage on the roadside and backwaters under the cover of darkness.
Sources said the NHAI had recently decided to issue no-objection certificate (NOC) to local bodies who had evinced interest in installing street lights in the corridor. “They were told that each light must emit at least 40 lumens. They will also have to maintain the lights. They can even straightaway install the lights, and the NOC could follow suit.”
The agency had in 2019 agreed to install street lights on the entire NH stretch after demands from Kerala High Court, local residents, motorists and the police. There was little follow-up action, although a study was conducted to weigh the pros and cons of installing solar-powered lights on the corridor. Experts demanded that lights which emit at least 150 lumens be installed, considering that it was a four-lane NH that was getting busier as days passed.
Official sources said that it was not too late to opt for solar-powered lights, since their operation and maintenance cost were relatively less. The NHAI would install lights in locales that were left vacant by local bodies and at accident-prone ‘black spots’, they added.
