Over 1,000 Dark Spots to Be Lit Up For Women in Delhi in the Coming Days

Hurrah! In a remarkable feat to ensure women's safety, the Delhi government has proposed installing LED lights across the capital, targeting particularly dim, dingy spots. As per a survey undertaken by social organisation Safetipin, there are approximately 1,000 to 1,500 sites that have been identified as 'dark spots' in the city, which are set to be illuminated as part of the Mukhyamantri Street Light Scheme. In the endeavour's first phase, residential areas, commercial complexes, markets, parks, and internal roads are to be lit up—after which the rest of Delhi will be scoured. 

The LED lights will be automatically controlled via cloud-based servers, whereby a sensor will switch off the lights at dawn and turn it on when dark. If a technical glitch were to arise, the sensor is designed to send a notification to the authorities, with the issue to be resolved within 48 hours. "Such spots in south, west, and north Delhi will soon be illuminated with new LED lights as eleven crores have been sanctioned by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in this regard," an official from the centre revealed. 

The city government is also said to launch a web portal and mobile application to monitor the functioning of the lights and keep them in working condition with prompt maintenance. According to the Safetipin survey, most of these dark spots are situated on roads and flyovers under the jurisdiction of erstwhile north and south Delhi municipal corporations. The street lights count in Delhi is said to go up from seven lakhs to nine lakhs under this scheme—with the project to be executed within the next six months.