From www.bangaloremirror.com -December 28, 2013 3:04 AM

Nagapura's power-saving initiative flounders as weekend thief makes repeat raids

The sensors help save power by monitoring the intensity
of the natural light and switching on the lights as needed

Just when Nagapura, a BBMP ward in Mahalakshmi Layout, was all set to become a model ward with fully automated street lighting service, civic authorities have received a jolt. The reason? In a bizarre turn of events, a thief has struck the ward repeatedly on weekends and stolen 30 capacitors out of the 165 sensors that controlled over 2,000 street lights! 

With each capacitor costing over Rs 4,000, civic authorities are left in the lurch as more than 300 street lights have turned defective over the last one month. Incidentally, this one-of-a-kind thief has left the locked sensors alone, each of which costs around Rs 25,000. 

Though more than one person could be behind the raids, residents suspect a single repeat offender considering stealing capacitors requires some specialisation, and the style of operation also follows a pattern. 

Nagapura's new initiative was considered as a model for the city's 190-plus wards, and a novel way to minimise the impact of the power crisis. It helped the ward save electricity by switching off street lights on time. Photosynthetic sensors were introduced, and the 165 sensors controlled over 2,000 street lights in the ward. 

Instead of waiting for staff to switch the street lights on and off, the lights went on automatically when the sensors detected natural light going below 10 lm (lumen), and went off when it was found to be more than 10 lm at dawn. 

Everything was going smoothly for the Rs 41-lakh project until the thief decided to make his weekend visits. For a month now, the capacitors in the sensors are regularly doing the disappearing act. And adding to the bewilderment, this is happening only on weekends — Saturdays and Sundays. 

"This is a model project, but unfortunately a thief (likely an individual going by his mode of operation) is playing spoilsport," S Harish, former deputy mayor and corporator, Nagapura ward, told Bangalore Mirror. "This is the handiwork of some thorough professional capacitor thief." 

When contacted, the police, however, maintained they were yet to receive a formal complaint. "We will act on it and address the issue once we receive an official complaint," T R Kumaraswamy, inspector, Mahalakshmi Layout police, told Bangalore Mirror. 

"As the capacitors are stolen, the street lights are not switching on and off. The whole initiative has suffered a setback. This must either be somebody's work to sabotage a model initiative or a petty thief's work. The police should act swiftly," Harish added.