Money spent for capital’s solar lights has gone down the drain

The initiative to install solar lights on the capital’s roads to save electricity has not been successful, thanks to the relevant authorities’ careless attitude to public money that was spent for this project. To speak the truth, authorities take up projects like this to plunder public money. In this project also, several hundreds crores of taka just went down the drain.

According to reports yesterday, the solar lights of Dhaka City’s southern part no longer give light. The condition of the northern part of the city is also bad. To give light to the area at night, LED lamps have been installed, but the solar panels were not removed. Even in places like Matsya Bhavan road solar panels have been stolen. Reportedly, within a few days of installing the solar lights on this road, the road remained in dark at night again. At one point, on the request of the locals, solar lamps were removed and LED lamps were installed.

The DSCC reportedly installed 50 solar lights from the Chief Justice’s residence to Notre Dame College in Kakrail. But the project failed completely. In this, the government has lost Tk 200 million. Similarly, the DNCC installed 260 solar lights on three avenues of Uttara Model Town, but these lamps are also useless now.

With funding from the World Bank, the two City Corporations took up the solar light project experimentally. According to the plan, if this project was successful, solar lights would have been set up in Gulshan, Hatirjheel, Arambagh, Banglamotor, Nabisco and Dhaka University area. But DSCC withdrew from that decision after reviewing the results of the project.

Due to substandard work, the project worth Tk 200 million became a failed one within a few days. Similarly, money was also wasted in the city areas that belong to DNCC. It is reported that the solar street lights supplied by the Chinese company glow like candlelight.

Most infrastructure projects of Bangladesh do not last as they do in other countries. But as far as project funding is concerned, often more than what is required is allocated here. The neighbouring country, India, is an example in this regard. Though there is corruption in India also, it is not deep and widespread as it is in Bangladesh. There, the quality of work is also not compromised.
Unless accountability is ensured, people in Bangladesh will continue to see wastage of public money as it has been in installing solar lights in Dhaka city.