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DNCC to procure 42,450 streetlights Lights to be installed at a cost of Tk 320cr to ensure security of pedestrians at night DEEPAK ACHARJEE, Dhaka Software-based 42,450 LED streetlights are going to be purchased and fitted to lamp-posts in the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) area to ensure the security of pedestrians at night. The LED streetlights worth Tk. 319.74 crore under 14 packages, out of 18, would be purchased without inviting open tender, sources in the LGRD ministry said. According to the sources, the authorities concerned will purchase the streetlights under the direct purchase method (DPM). Talking to The Independent, a senior official of the LGRD ministry said they have prepared a proposal in this regard and it would be placed at the next meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for its approval. “After getting the approval, the work order will be given to Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory, an enterprise of the Bangladesh Army, for supplying the LED lights,” he added. According to the proposal, the project to “install LED streetlights of the DNCC’ would be implemented by the Army to avoid any hassles during installation. In the proposal, the LGRD ministry said it would need to relax Clause 68(1) of the Public Procurement (PPR) Act-2006 and Section 76(2) of the rules of the PPR. And that is why the proposal would be sent to the Cabinet Division for being placed at the next meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. Sources in the DNCC said they will install the LED lights in dark areas first and gradually at other places within five years. The DNCC will install the LED street-lights in an 82 square kilometre area. The DNCC earlier implemented a pilot project by installing 3,343 LED lights in parts of the DNCC area at a cost of Tk. 250 million. About 80 per cent of the lights were installed in Gulshan, Baridhara, and Banani areas. According to sources, there are no streetlights in most of the areas of the DNCC and that is why various crimes were taking place there. DNCC consists of 54 wards covering the thanas of Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Pallabi, Adabor, Kafrul, Dhaka Cantonment, Tejgaon, TejgaonIndustrial Area, Gulshan, Rampura, Banani, Bimanbandar, Khilkhet, Vatara, Badda, Uttara, Uttar Khan, Hatirjheel and others.