‘Do you have the Window seat with you?’ I asked the personnel manning the airline counter at the airport.
‘Sorry sir. We do not have any window seats with us now.’ He expressed his helplessness.
I was at Patna airport and was returning to Delhi after celebrating Holi. I looked at the Boarding number – 63 it said. It seemed unlikely that a flight with 48 window seats in ‘Economy’ class would have all the window seats reserved at number 63. I do not have any fascination of occupying the window seat of an aircraft. It is only at the time of taking off or landing that the child within me becomes curious for watching the expanse of the city. And watching a beautifully lit city from the sky has its own charm – it adds aura to that city. I have flied to and from Patna before as well - but this was my first opportunity of watching the ‘revived’ city in its full glory from the sky in night. Having seen cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai etc. from sky in night I was looking forward to do the same with my native place.
My allotted seat was 11B – ‘At least not the aisle one. I will try to have a peep at the city’ I resolved. Sadly my enthusiasm was short lived. As the aircraft took to air, the lit Patna disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. ‘Patna cannot be this small’ I thought. At roughly 110 sq km, the Municipal extent of Patna is decent (though nowhere in comparison to our metros). The disappearance of my city in a blink from my view baffled me for a moment when there was a sudden realization – In all probability the inadequate numbers of streetlights in the city had played a role in this remarkably ‘shocking’ experience.
I have often wondered on how a Capital city could move on (and theoretically grow) without proper public lighting in place. A few months back I had read another baffling story regarding Patna (I had planned to write on it but could not get time) – the then Municipal Commissioner had rejected a proposal to install 100 streetlights in each of the 72 wards of the city citing of lack of ‘funds’ and ‘resources’. He opined that the Patnaites can live without such ‘extravagance’ (Telegraph 19-July-2011: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110719/jsp/bihar/story_14254356.jsp). I was taken aback by the ‘tone’ of the comment. How can a city ill-equipped to light up its public spaces lure talents in days to come? If Bihar has to grow then first Patna has to instill that confidence in the talents to make this city their home – and that starts with providing for all the basic needs to its current residents. During my recent visit on Holi the situation has not changed much. Our main thoroughfare, Bailey Road, remains plunged in darkness for most of its stretch. The stretch after the botanical garden towards Danapur does not even have the poles in most parts while the stretch before it boasts of many nonfunctional lights. If this is the state of our ‘Rajpath’ then one can easily draw inference on the rest of the areas especially the roads leading to colonies and ‘mohallas’.
Streetlights are not only for convenience – they reveal the character of the city. They instill confidence in the citizens and dissuade the anti-socials from committing crimes. They add to the beauty of the city in night and give a certain aura to it. Stories on having defunct streetlights on newly constructed flyovers etc. have become a norm – One does not expect this from an administration which is being credited for the turnaround of Bihar.
There was a news article a few days back in which Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister has asked for suggestions to utilize the still unused fund of around Rs. 19 crores for the development of Patna District (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120227/jsp/bihar/story_15182208.jsp). I wonder if someone in the administration or in PMC would have suggested utilizing even 25% of it in lighting the city of Patna properly. In an article in Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110711/jsp/bihar/story_14221191.jsp) the Patna Mayor had claimed that the cost of installing a streetlight is Rs. 1600 – By this calculation if one spends Rs. 5 crore on lighting the city then each of the 72 ward would roughly get around 430 streetlights. Just think what 31250 extra streetlights can do the confidence of this city which is emerging from the shadows of its recent past.
I also believe that in an effort to induce environment consciousness in its citizens Patna should go for solar streetlights. Since we are in the reconstruction phase – it would make sense that Patna aspire to be a ‘Green’ city and lead the way for others to follow.
Also, while I am making a case keeping in mind Patna only, Bihar government should look to light up all its cities, towns and villages. Let this be the first step in bringing Bihar back from the ‘Ages of Dark’.
P.S: While this is article is specific to Patna, many smaller cities and towns across the country do not have proper lighting arrangement. Lighting up these cities (preferably using solar panel streetlights) would change the life of their residents beyond our imagination.
‘Sorry sir. We do not have any window seats with us now.’ He expressed his helplessness.
I was at Patna airport and was returning to Delhi after celebrating Holi. I looked at the Boarding number – 63 it said. It seemed unlikely that a flight with 48 window seats in ‘Economy’ class would have all the window seats reserved at number 63. I do not have any fascination of occupying the window seat of an aircraft. It is only at the time of taking off or landing that the child within me becomes curious for watching the expanse of the city. And watching a beautifully lit city from the sky has its own charm – it adds aura to that city. I have flied to and from Patna before as well - but this was my first opportunity of watching the ‘revived’ city in its full glory from the sky in night. Having seen cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai etc. from sky in night I was looking forward to do the same with my native place.
My allotted seat was 11B – ‘At least not the aisle one. I will try to have a peep at the city’ I resolved. Sadly my enthusiasm was short lived. As the aircraft took to air, the lit Patna disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. ‘Patna cannot be this small’ I thought. At roughly 110 sq km, the Municipal extent of Patna is decent (though nowhere in comparison to our metros). The disappearance of my city in a blink from my view baffled me for a moment when there was a sudden realization – In all probability the inadequate numbers of streetlights in the city had played a role in this remarkably ‘shocking’ experience.
I have often wondered on how a Capital city could move on (and theoretically grow) without proper public lighting in place. A few months back I had read another baffling story regarding Patna (I had planned to write on it but could not get time) – the then Municipal Commissioner had rejected a proposal to install 100 streetlights in each of the 72 wards of the city citing of lack of ‘funds’ and ‘resources’. He opined that the Patnaites can live without such ‘extravagance’ (Telegraph 19-July-2011: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110719/jsp/bihar/story_14254356.jsp). I was taken aback by the ‘tone’ of the comment. How can a city ill-equipped to light up its public spaces lure talents in days to come? If Bihar has to grow then first Patna has to instill that confidence in the talents to make this city their home – and that starts with providing for all the basic needs to its current residents. During my recent visit on Holi the situation has not changed much. Our main thoroughfare, Bailey Road, remains plunged in darkness for most of its stretch. The stretch after the botanical garden towards Danapur does not even have the poles in most parts while the stretch before it boasts of many nonfunctional lights. If this is the state of our ‘Rajpath’ then one can easily draw inference on the rest of the areas especially the roads leading to colonies and ‘mohallas’.
Streetlights are not only for convenience – they reveal the character of the city. They instill confidence in the citizens and dissuade the anti-socials from committing crimes. They add to the beauty of the city in night and give a certain aura to it. Stories on having defunct streetlights on newly constructed flyovers etc. have become a norm – One does not expect this from an administration which is being credited for the turnaround of Bihar.
There was a news article a few days back in which Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister has asked for suggestions to utilize the still unused fund of around Rs. 19 crores for the development of Patna District (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120227/jsp/bihar/story_15182208.jsp). I wonder if someone in the administration or in PMC would have suggested utilizing even 25% of it in lighting the city of Patna properly. In an article in Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110711/jsp/bihar/story_14221191.jsp) the Patna Mayor had claimed that the cost of installing a streetlight is Rs. 1600 – By this calculation if one spends Rs. 5 crore on lighting the city then each of the 72 ward would roughly get around 430 streetlights. Just think what 31250 extra streetlights can do the confidence of this city which is emerging from the shadows of its recent past.
I also believe that in an effort to induce environment consciousness in its citizens Patna should go for solar streetlights. Since we are in the reconstruction phase – it would make sense that Patna aspire to be a ‘Green’ city and lead the way for others to follow.
Also, while I am making a case keeping in mind Patna only, Bihar government should look to light up all its cities, towns and villages. Let this be the first step in bringing Bihar back from the ‘Ages of Dark’.
P.S: While this is article is specific to Patna, many smaller cities and towns across the country do not have proper lighting arrangement. Lighting up these cities (preferably using solar panel streetlights) would change the life of their residents beyond our imagination.
Comments
we'd like to read more from you shanu :D