10,000 smart lights lit up 944 lanes in Guwahati, 10,667 more in pipeline

Guwahati, Oct 10: In continuation of efforts to position Guwahati as the Gateway to Southeast Asia, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday inaugurated the first phase of the smart street lighting with Centralized Control and Monitoring Systems (CCMS) at an event held at the Nandi Mikir Primary School at Chachal. This was stated in an official press release.

The total expenditure for this project, implemented under the Guwahati Smart City Limited, is estimated at Rs 83.96 crore. As part of the initiative, 20,667 smart street lights are slated for installation, of which over 11,000 have already been powered. With the installation of 10,000 street lights, 944 lanes within the city have now been illuminated. The system is equipped with advanced cloud-based management technology, enabling remote operation and adjustment of light intensity.

It is also equipped with a web-based CCMS for enhanced remote monitoring and control. To conserve energy and reduce operational costs, the system would automatically decrease the intensity of the street lights after midnight.

Speaking on the occasion, Sarma remarked on the present State government's ongoing efforts over the past two to three years to enhance lighting across several areas of Guwahati by eliminating darkness.

He highlighted that in 2023, the Guwahati Utility Corporation was formed as a joint venture between the Guwahati Municipal Corporation and the Government of Assam to modernise the city's street light system. This corporation has been tasked with integrating smart technology into the street light network, enabling centralised control through a single command centre, with the added convenience of mobile app-based management.

The Chief Minister noted that Guwahati's urban development had long lacked significant investment, but recent years have seen a shift, with numerous steps taken by the present State government to accelerate infrastructure development. These efforts, he added, have eased the pressure on the city to some extent. He stated that projects such as the construction of bridges between Guwahati and North Guwahati, as well as those connecting Palasbari to Sualkuchi and Narengi to Kurua, will further integrate neighbouring areas into the metropolitan fold, reducing the strain on the main city. Along with the introduction of automatic traffic signals and smart street lights, Sarma said that the long-awaited installation of CCTV cameras across Guwahati would be inaugurated on January 1, 2025. He noted that the ongoing water supply project, in the works for several years, is expected to be completed by December 2024, benefiting 1,50,000 people with new water connections.