In a bid to enhance public safety, the Tiruchi Corporation has decided to expedite the replacement of existing 20-watt LED streetlights with 40W LED lights across residential localities.

The move comes in response to repeated complaints from residents and elected councillors regarding inadequate lighting on interior roads, residential neighbourhoods, newly developed layouts and peripheral areas. Officials said the low-intensity 20W LED lights installed several years ago have proved insufficient in providing adequate illumination in densely populated localities.

The civic body has been replacing 20W streetlights with 40W and 90W LED fixtures in phases. Of the total 28,273 20W streetlights, around 8,221 have already been upgraded to 40W lights over the past year. In the next phase, the Corporation has sanctioned ₹2 crore for replacing an additional 4,000 streetlights with 40W LED lights across all five zones of the city.

Faulty and dimly lit streetlights in several parts of the city continue to raise safety concerns among residents, particularly those returning home late in the evening. Many existing streetlights have reportedly turned yellow and lost brightness over time, reducing visibility and increasing the risk of accidents and thefts at night.

Poor lighting has been a persistent concern in several localities, especially the interior streets of KK Nagar, Palpannai, Kattur, Ramachandra Nagar, and Woraiyur. On Kulimikarai Road, for instance, there are around 30 streetlights, but more than half are reportedly dim, making the stretch inadequately lit after dark.

Officials said councillors and Junior Engineers have been instructed to identify priority locations in their respective wards to ensure that areas with the most pressing lighting issues are attended to first. Residential neighbourhoods where complaints of poor illumination were most frequent had already been identified for immediate intervention, he added.

The Corporation expects to complete the replacement work in most residential areas over the next few months, significantly improving visibility and public safety.