Streets within Vellore Corporation limits will become brighter soon as 3,164 LED lights have been procured for installation in all its 60 wards, said Mayor Sujatha Anandakumar at the council meeting, held at its headquarters here on Wednesday.
Funded under 15th Finance Commission, the new street lights will be installed on leftout areas and added localities at a cost of ₹47.56 crore. These lights will also be installed along service lanes of national highways including the Chennai - Bengaluru Highway.
At present, 21,969 street lights including 13,452 LED lights are functioning within civic body limits. As per norms, each street light should be installed for every 30 metres in distance. “The Corporation will also undertake road works and rejuvenation of waterbodies at a cost of ₹Rs 24.44 crore and ₹2.25 crore respectively,” the Mayor said.
Most of the councillors highlighted the official apathy in addressing residents’ complaints on irregular water supply, pumpset repairs, incomplete storm water drains and defunct street lights. “The newly built OHT (Over Head Tank) in my ward has not been put to use due to delay in water supply to the tank,” P. Ramesh, 10th ward member from Katpadi, said.
Mayor A. Sujatha, who chaired the meeting, said that the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage board (TWAD) had completed laying of new pipelines in the city under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. Currently, trial runs were being done in the new pipelines to prevent any seepage. The entire exercise would be done in two months before the Corporation took over its maintenance.
Councillors said stray dogs posed risk to children playing on the streets. Corporation Commissioner P.Rathinasamy said that at present, the civic body, through a non-profit organisation, had sterilised 1,200 stray dogs. However, as per the Animal Birth Control (ABC) norms, such sterilised dogs should be released only in its habitat. So, stray dogs were back in the same locality. “On a permanent landfill site, the Corporation manages to dispose of 25 metric tons of non-biodegradable wastes every day. However, non-availability of land for other wastes remains a challenge,” the Commissioner said.
The three-hour-long-council meeting that was chaired by the Mayor in the presence of Deputy Mayor M. Sunil Kumar passed a resolution for 105 works that would be taken up in all its four zones, covering 60 wards.
