Karnal: LEDs illuminate dark patches on road

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Karnal, May 21

Dark patches in urban areas on the NH-44 from Gharaunda to Jalandhar, which had made the highway unsafe for commuters and locals, have been illuminated with LED street lights.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has installed around 4,300 streetlights on service roads as well as over and below the flyovers on the 90-km stretch, which fall in the urban area limits on the highway in both the states — 40 km in Haryana and 50 km in Punjab.

Apart from this, the lighting on the main carriageway of the highway has also been upgraded in urban and built-up areas.

The 40-km stretch in Haryana on NH-44 have been covered in the urban limits of Gharaunda, Karnal city, Taraori, Nilokheri, Kurukshetra city, Shahabad and Ambala, an NHAI official said.

A sum of around Rs 36 crore has been spent on this project in both states and the agency took around one year to complete the project, said the official.

“The lighting has not only increased the beautification of the highway, but also made it safe for commuters. It will also help in foggy days and improve overall road safety,” said the official.

A 250W light has been fixed on each 9 metre pole. As many as 150 high mast light towers have been installed in Haryana and Punjab, of which 65 have been installed over the flyovers.

The authorities claimed it would be useful to avoid any accident involving pedestrians and stray animals as the streetlights have increased the visibility on the highway.

It will also help in curtailing the incidents of robbery or loot by anti-social elements, the official claimed.

As per the motorists, it had become a nightmare after dusk as there was complete darkness due to absence of lighting. Several accidents have been reported regularly due to dark stretches.

Will help curtail accidents, robbery cases

• The authorities claimed it would be useful to avoid any accident involving pedestrians and stray animals as the streetlights have increased the visibility on the highway
• It will also help in curtailing the incidents of robbery or loot by anti-social elements, the official claimed
• According to the motorists, it had become a nightmare after dusk as there was complete darkness due to absence of lighting