NEA running ‘Light And Clean City Campaign’

Kathmandu / Aug. 23: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is to launch ‘Bright and Clean City Campaign’ to enhance urban beauty.

Under the Bright City Campaign, smart lights will be installed on the main roads, historical and cultural heritages listed in the World Heritage list and tourist sites in coordination and cooperation with the municipalities.

The campaign will enhance the beauty of the city, increase the demand for electricity and also consume electricity wasted at night, said NEA Managing Director Kul Man Ghising.

Ghising said that the work of removing unused electric poles and wires in the main and subsidiary roads and laying the wires underground would be taken forward under the cleaning campaign.

In the first phase, the bright and clean city campaign will be run in the Kathmandu Valley, Bharatpur and Pokhara metropolis and then expanded across the country.

Earlier, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal had announced to improve the quality of distribution system and expand it underground in urban areas by increasing the capacity of distribution lines and substations through her action plan.

The NEA is going to launch ‘Bright and Clean City Campaign’ to implement the minister’s declaration.

“Unnecessary poles stand on the roads. We have started removing them. In the first phase, work is underway in Maharajgunj and Ratna Park areas of Kathmandu to take the electric wires underground.

“We are expanding it to the major cities of the country as the underground system will be safer than the existing overhead distribution system and will help maintain beauty,” Ghising said.

In the second phase, the work of putting the wires underground will cover the remaining places of Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Pokhara and Bharatpur. Internet, telecommunication, cable television service providers will be able to provide services using the optical fiber as optical fiber will also be laid along with the electric wire.

Lighting on road and tourist area

The NEA, in collaboration with the local levels, will run a campaign to install smart lights to illuminate historical, religious, cultural, world heritage sites and roads at night.

The first phase of smart street lights has been connected with the active participation of Lalitpur Metropolitan City. The work of connecting street lights on the main road of Amargadhi Municipality of Dadeldhura has been completed.

“When there is no light, our historical monuments and tourist sites are dark at night and the roads are dark, so we are operating the lighting campaign to put smart lights in such places in partnership with the locals,” Ghising said.

Smart road lights are being installed in Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Kankai of Jhapa, Bhimeshwar of Dolakha, Belka of Udayapur and Bheemdatta Municipality of Kanchanpur.

The contract agreement for the second phase of smart road lighting connection in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Lalitpur is in the final stage, NEA said.

Ghising said that the process of smart light connection has been taken forward by removing the lights placed in Koteshwor-Bhaktapur and Koteshwor-Kalanki road sections of Kathmandu and the main administrative centre Singha Durbar under the Bright City Campaign.

Currently, additional demands are being made from all over the country and preparations are being made to implement the demands received from about 20 municipalities, he said.

Among them are Dhangadhi of Kailali, Kohalpur of Banke, Lamahi and Tulsipur of Dang, Hetauda of Makwanpur, Gaighat of Udayapur, Sundar Haraincha of Morang, Janakpur of Dhanusha, Kirtipur and Budhanilkantha of Kathmandu, Mahalaxmi of Lalitpur, Dhulikhel of Kavre and Bidur of Nuwakot.

He said that the NEA has demanded proposals from municipalities across the country for smart light connection. The smart lights will be connected at a ratio of 60 per cent investment from municipalities and 40 per cent from NEA.

The NEA will supervise the cost estimate, technology selection, procurement and construction for the establishment of smart light.

The NEA will provide technical assistance for the bidding process and supervision if the municipalities themselves bid with 100 per cent investment.

The smart lights will be installed in Pashupatinath, Swayambhu, Bouddhanath, Basantapur Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Lumbini, Janakpur, Muktinath and other areas listed in the World Heritage List in coordination and cooperation with local municipalities, NEA said.