High mast, smart lights illuminate Pokhara

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 31:  Pokhara, one of Nepal's major tourist cities, is being lit up with high masts and smart street lights.

Under the ‘Bright Pokhara’ campaign, work to the install high masts in main chowk and street lights on roads has been started to illuminate the city. 

In partnership with the Pokhara Metropolitan Municipality and the Nepal Electricity Authority, process to install 23 high mast lights on 16-metre-high poles on 23 main chowks of Pokhara is underway.

Modern high-mast lights are being installed that scatter light in all directions. So far, eight high mast lights have been installed, according to a press statement of the NEA. Around 1,624 street lights will be installed on 50 kilometers of main roads within the metropolis.

Out of which, 1,104 energy efficient lights of 90 watts each and 520 smart lights of 120 watts each will be installed.

So far, 171 lights have been installed. The street lighting installation work will be completed by mid-March 2023.

Mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City Dhanraj Acharya and Managing Director of the NEA Kul Man Ghising jointly inaugurated the high mast and road lights installed in Birauta area on Wednesday evening.

The high masts and street lights installed in Birauta, Lakeside and other places were lit through remote control.

Street lights will increase the nighttime beauty of Pokhara by making road travel safe at night and enhancing the street and urban beauty. The metropolis will pay the tariff of the road lights.

The smart light can be controlled automatically from the feeder panel in the Authority's system. For this, 27 feeder panels will be installed, out of which three have already been installed. A separate transformer has been installed for street lighting only.

Smart light is directly connected to the Authority's server. There is an automatic system to turn on the lights on when it's dark and turn them off when it's bright through the software.

Billing of electricity tariff is done through the software. The monitoring of whether or not the light is on can also be done through the software.

The Authority is installing decorative modern lights (smart lights) on the main roads, historical cultural heritages listed in the World Heritage List and tourist places in coordination and partnership with the municipalities as part of the campaign.

The Authority believes that this will enhance the beauty of the city, increase the demand for electricity and also consume electricity that is wasted at night.