New lamps light up holidays

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will install decorative streetlamps at 72 points along the city's main thoroughfare Jl. Thamrin to greet Christmas, the post-fasting Idul Fitri celebration and the new millennium, an official said on Thursday.

"The lamps will be installed on the street on Dec. 24, the day before Christmas, until Jan. 16, or seven days after Idul Fitri," Suena, head of the City Public Lighting Agency, said at City Hall.

The lamps, dubbed "Mayang Terurai" and in the form of flowers, will be decorated in different colors.

Similar streetlamps have been placed along Jl. Thamrin.

Suena said the agency would also install decorative lamps on the major streets of Jl. Medan Merdeka and Jl. Sudirman.

The city did not make a special budgetary allowance for the lamps.

"We used the city's routine budget, and the fund allocation for the lamps is not much." He did not disclose the amount.

Suena said the administration allocated Rp 8.489 billion last year to install 2,850 streetlamps.

"For the maintenance, the administration allocated Rp 10.08 billion," he said.

Suena said the agency also allocated funds for the repair or replacement of damaged streetlamps.

"An average of 5,000 streetlamps, from 110,000 sites of streetlamps, are broken every month," he said.

Suena said the agency targeted setting up 120,000 sites for streetlamps in 2000.

"In the long term, we plan to install up to 210,000 locations of streetlamps, especially on the city's main thoroughfares, in parks, sidewalks, state administration buildings and historical buildings." (asa)