Mavoor Road in the heart of Kozhikode plunges into darkness at night as none of the street lights burn. | Photo Credit: K. Ragesh more-in The Kozhikode Municipal Corporation has found itself in a mess over the street lights in the city and their annual maintenance contracts. Most of the LED street lights purchased from Keltron two years ago are now dysfunctional. But the corporation is in no position to replace them as the warranty period of the lights has expired. That the corporation has failed to enter into an annual maintenance contract (AMC) with Keltron adds to the problem. “Keltron will enter into an AMC only for a period of three years and no less, while we need it only for one year. This is because a new project to replace all the street lights is in the pipeline and will be implemented in less than a year”, said T.V. Lalithaprabha, Public Works Standing Committee chairperson of the corporation. The corporation has already invited expression of interest from manufacturers for the new project, which will be implemented as soon as the experts from National Institute of Technology, Kozhikode, finalise the manufacturer. This will take at least six months. This prevents the corporation from replacing the dysfunctional lights now, putting many parts of the city into darkness until the new project is implemented. The problem persists only with lights from Keltron as the corporation had made it a point to enter into AMCs with other companies that have contributed street lights. The issue had kicked up a discussion in the Corporation Council meeting on Wednesday where many councillors alleged that proper maintenance of the street lights was not being carried out in most wards. Councillor Sayed Muhammed Shameel said that lights were getting damaged before the warranty period, but were not getting replaced.

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