Republic Day: Parade Grounds to be lit all night till Jan 26

HYDERABAD: Passing by the Parade Grounds has never been a more 'illuminating' experience for Hyderabadis who have been surprised over the last couple of days with floodlights beaming brightly over the vast ground throughout the night.

Given the complete silence on the ground with no hint of activity, commuters wondered if the authorities forgot to turn off the lights. As it turns out, Parade Grounds will be lit all night till January 26 to keep troublemakers at bay.

With the preparations for the Republic Day parade on in full swing, the authorities are leaving no stone unturned to maintain high security at the Parade Grounds, including an expenditure of over Rs one lakh on keeping the ground illuminated all through the night to ensure there are no trespassers on this ground.

Now, the ground, where the Republic Day parade takes place every year, has 260 metal-halide lamps (used for outdoor floodlighting) of 400 watts each and 100 halogen lamps of 1,000 watts each, beaming through the night. This arrangement has been made for a total of 13 days.

Ram Kumar, an official with the electrical wing of the roads and buildings department, AP, said, "Approximately 260 kilowatts of electricity is being used by these lights. Apart from the supply sanctioned by the GHMC, we also have two generators there."

The cost of electricity consumption for the illumination of the grounds adds up to more than Rs one lakh. "The total electricity consumption cost for this temporary supply will roughly come up to Rs 1,16,640 for around 10 days," said Lakshmi Prasad, assistant divisional engineer with GHMC.

The lights are being kept on all night to keep drunkards and certain anti-social elements away, say police officials. S Santhosham, sub-inspector, Begumpet police station said, "We usually get cases of people breaking into Parade Grounds and consuming alcohol there. However, the main problem is certain anti-social elements behind the ground. They take advantage of the poorly-maintained gates of the Parade Grounds and the badly lit area. With January 26 drawing close, we cannot afford to allow any illegal activities at the venue. Hence, the security guards stationed there leave the lights on all night as it helps them to keep an eye on all the corners of the vast ground."

Santhosham also revealed that around 20 police personnel are stationed at the grounds every night apart from 10 guards from defence. This number will gradually increase as the main event approaches. Despite this, he said that without all the lights on, it is difficult for the guards to ensure no one enters the grounds at night.