BEST plans to replace 1500 corroded street lamp poles across Mumbai

A considerable number of streetlight poles in the city — which are under the jurisdiction of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) — are corroded. According to BEST, of the 40,000 odd streetlight poles nearly 1,500 in the island city are corroded and in poor condition.

The BEST officials said that these poles may collapse if they are not replaced immediately. "The condition of almost 5,000 streetlight poles has deteriorated. Of these, 1,500 are in a critical condition and need immediate replacement," said a BEST official.

The BEST is looking at replacing them with new mild steel poles. On August 28, the BEST Committee discussed about the urgency but its members were unhappy with the procurement of new poles from only one contractor.

Shiv Sena corporator and BEST committee member Anil Kokil said that since close to 1,500 streetlight poles are corroded, it made no sense to procure from a single contractor.

BEST committee chairman Ashish Chemburkar said, "The company which won contract quoted a price that is 70 per cent less than the others. What would be the quality of these poles?"

Meanwhile, the BEST is also looking at replacing the regular sodium lights with LED bulbs. This is being done as the consumption of electricity and cost of consumption will come down considerably. "We expect a drop in power consumption and its cost by 40-45 per cent," said a BEST official.

The BEST officials claim that on an average a single street lamp consumes close to 100 units per month and that would come down to 60 units. The cost is around Rs 8 per unit and this way the overall expenditure on electricity consumption too would drop.

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According to BEST, of the 40,000 odd streetlight poles nearly 1,500 in the island city are corroded and in poor condition. The BEST officials said that these poles may collapse if they are not replaced immediately