Patna: Chief minister Samrat Choudhary on Sunday directed officials to ensure that all street lights installed within the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) area remain fully functional, stressing immediate maintenance and regular upkeep of lighting infrastructure.Choudhary issued the instructions while chairing a review meeting of the PMC street light programme at the Sankalp auditorium at Lok Sevak Awas. He asked officials of the urban development and housing department (UDHD) to send a formal letter to all agencies associated with the road construction department, directing them to improve routine maintenance and monitoring of street lights.The CM said all street lights installed in the PMC area should be repaired, maintained and brought into operational condition soon. He directed that new street lights be installed on a solar-based system. The solar plate, battery and light, he said, should be integrated into an inbuilt unit to ease operation and maintenance.The meeting discussed in detail the availability of street lights in the municipal area, existing maintenance challenges, and plans for the supply, installation and automation of new lights. Choudhary also ordered a study to assess possible savings in electricity consumption and other expenditure if all street lights in the PMC area are converted to solar power. He directed the department concerned to prepare and submit a detailed report based on the study.Emphasising urban appearance, the CM said Patna should look orderly and clean and that work should proceed under a stronger action plan. He said areas around Gandhi Maidan should be organised systematically so that the ground’s natural form appears better.Chief minister’s principal secretary Deepak Kumar, UDHD principal secretary Vinay Kumar, chief minister’s secretaries Lokesh Kumar Singh and Sanjay Kumar Singh, UDHD secretary Animesh Parasar, Patna municipal commissioner Yashpal Meena and other senior officials attended the meeting.
