Mysore/Mysuru: There are certain lights in Mysuru that glow only during Dasara and only after the intervention of Ministers and elected representatives. Be it the lights along the 42.1 km Ring Road or the ornamental lights around the Palace. After Dasara, the stretches are dark, becoming a nightmare for commuters and pedestrians.
Every year it is the same story and the hapless residents of Mysuru have to bear with this system that glorifies heritage and public convenience only during the annual festival season when every other money-making activity picks up. Rest of the time they are completely ignored, for obvious reasons.
Take for example the lights around Mysore Palace in the heart of the city where lakhs of tourists come. Ornamental lights were installed around the magnificent structure in 2011 to compliment the heritage character. But as the wiring work has not been done efficiently, the lights do not glow.
Only during Dasara, these wires are reattached and insulated so that they can glow for a month or so. They are repaired during the days of illumination so that they are not left out. The grants for this project were allocated in 2011 of the Rs. 100 crore released by the State Government after the then District Minister Shobha Karandlaje intervened.
Ward 51 Corporator B.V. Manjunath told Star of Mysore that Shobha Karandlaje realised that only ornamental lights could enhance the beauty around the Palace. “But those who obtained a tender for this project abandoned after completing over 50 percent of the work. The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) took the contractor to the Court and the case is still going on,” he said.
Overhead wiring has been done to these ornamental lights and as such, the lights have a capacity to glow for just three hours continuously. “If used more, the lights are likely to burn. We have taken up the issue and the lights will glow soon,” Manjunath added.
Vinay, Junior Engineer, MCC electrical wing, said that the overhead wires have to be replaced by underground wires and a dedicated cable has to be laid. “A tender worth Rs. 30 lakh has been finalised and works will begin soon,” he added.
Ring Road perpetually dark
If overhead wiring is a problem around the Palace and tender has been called to lay underground wires, on the Ring Road, this underground wire itself is a problem as rats and rodents have eaten away the wires and special funds are needed to restore them.
All the 2,135 poles have underground wires, a special insulation method is needed to prevent rodents from chewing away the wires. The electrical wing of Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) is preparing a project estimate to relay the wires and also fix 4,270 LED bulbs on 2,135 poles.
“The estimate will be placed before the next MUDA meeting and subsequently it will be sent for Government approval,” officials said. But even after the wires are replaced and LED bulbs are fixed, the question will remain as to who will foot the electricity bill.
In the past too there was this problem as the Ring Road comes under the areas controlled by the MUDA and also Mysuru City Corporation. While the MUDA has always argued that MCC has to maintain them, the MCC has argued that it is the responsibility of MUDA.
Here too during Dasara, usually the District Minister decides that both MUDA and MCC will foot the bill at the rate of 50:50 ratio. This is done every year and the lights come back to life for just a month or so. Later, they are dark again, back to normal.
This post was published on February 10, 2022 6:41 pm