Township transformed: U-17 World Cup lights up Salt Lake

KOLKATA: Salt Lake is shining bright -courtesy the Fifa Under-17 World Cup.
“Suddenly, the streets are awash with light,“ says California-based architect Priangshu Sengupta, visiting his parents in Salt Lake's HA block. “The glitzy Fifa event has done the place much good. Outdoor illumination is not only crucial in making a town safe and functional after dark, it also indicates celebration,“ he says.
The neighborhood, especially Broad Street, the thoroughfare leading to the stadium, has suddenly transformed into a vivid landscape, ignited by lighting fixtures.Everything -from the rice lights spiraling the tridants and the spotlights flashing atop trees to the newly-installed lamp posts -has given a visual upgrade to Salt Lake.
The luminosity extends to the boulevards, that have been recently built, and the renovated older ones. Then there are lights accentuating the grass statues and the football-themed installations erected in various roundabouts.
“The lights make me feel excited about the event. One is suddenly aware of the existence of such a huge public infrastructure (street-lighting) which was not so apparent all these years,“ says conservation architect and AA Block resident Manish Chakraborti.
“The street-lighting was given as much importance as the interiors of the stadium. If the stadium has 2kilowatt metal halide lamps, 400watt bulbs have been installed on the streets. About 250 new metal halides and 100-odd LEDs have been installed at a cost of Rs 25crore,“ says a PWD official. “The lighting overhaul gives the township an extra glow, in the backdrop of 88,000odd spectators (capacity of Salt Lake stadium) visiting the place. Since LED is dimmer, metal halides have been used for street-lighting,“ said a PWD (electrical) official. Adding to the illumination are the pavement edges painted for the glow-in-the-dark effect. “The lighting was planned so that it could synchronize with the landscaping,“ said an official pointing at the red and black paver tiles laid on the sidewalk.
Conservation architect and former chairman, project committee, West Bengal Heritage Commission (WBHC), Partha Ranjan Das, who lives in AE Block, has some misgivings though. “The light is a bit overdone. One can understand the need for white lights inside the stadium. For the streets, the white should have been mixed with yellow or other colours.Have the lux levels for the streets been adhered to, I wonder.“ Artist and chairman, WBHC, Shuvaprasanna, wishes more professional hands are involved. “All those foreigners who've come for the match must have got a well-lit view of Salt Lake from the sky. At the ground level, a more aesthetic implementation is needed,“ said the Salt Lake resident.Arunima Chatterjee of DC Block says: “Over-lighting is better than darkness. We are happy to get some of the Fifareflected glory.“