LMC installing street lights on Balkumari-Balkhu section of Ring Road

Lalitpur, July 25: People travelling along the Balkumari-Balkhu section of the Ring Road have complained about poor visibility at night, saying that lack of street lights makes it difficult to drive both two-wheelers and four-wheelers. 

After years of complaints over poor visibility and unsafe driving conditions at night, commuters using this section are set to get relief. 

The problem is expected to be resolved before the upcoming Dashain festival, as Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC) has begun installing poles and street lights along the road section with the start of the new fiscal year. 

LMC is installing 1,337 street lights of 65 mini mast lights and two 16 metere-high mast lights along the Balkumari-Balkhu Ring Road section in collaboration with the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) under a cost-sharing arrangement. 

Under the agreement, the metropolis is bearing 60 per cent of the project cost, while the NEA is contributing the remaining 40 per cent. The project is expected to be completed before the upcoming Dashain festival. So far, the Department of Roads has provided Rs. 30 million to support the initiative, according to the metropolitan city's annual programme.

The metropolitan city has also installed 2,069 smart street lights and 91 CCTV cameras on roads across the metropolis to improve road safety, security and urban infrastructure so far.

In coordination with the Kathmandu Valley Police Office, state-of-the-art CCTV cameras are being installed at major intersections along the Satdobato–Chapagaun Dobato–Sunakothi, Satdobato–Dhapakhel and Satdobato–Harisiddhi road sections outside the Ring Road, from Ekantakuna to Bungamati.

Meanwhile, the metropolis has accelerated the management of unorganized overhead utility wires. Wire management has already been completed along the main road and around the route of the Shri Machhindranath Rath Yatra, while discussions are underway with the concerned agencies to extend the work to the remaining areas. 

Construction of Nepal's first disability-friendly sky bridge equipped with a lift is under way at Kusunti on the Ring Road, with Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC) aiming to complete the project before the upcoming Dashain festival.

The sky bridge is being built to provide safe and convenient road crossing facilities for pedestrians, particularly persons with disabilities, senior citizens and children, along one of the busiest sections of the Ring Road.