Pune Inc: As Operation Sindoor took place, a Maharashtra firm quietly secured Amritsar under a blanket of darkness

Indian Express

17 hours ago

In the early hours of May 7, India carried out strikes on nine targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor. In Amritsar, soon after 12 am, the local team of Pune-based company Samudra LED received a call from the Smart City Corporation asking for all street lights to be switched off immediately.
'Though we have a 24×7 call centre, the access for turning off all the street lights is only at a supervisory level. The other people, even those who operate the street wiring software, do not have access to certain features of the software because it is a delicate matter. If someone accidentally turns off all the street lights, the result would be a lot of chaos and safety concerns,' says Anand Thote, general manager of projects, design and branding at Samudra LED.
Within moments of that emergency call, the supervisory access was used to log into the system and use the emergency switch to cut power to all street lights and plunge the roads into darkness. The company would get the request again, to turn off the lamps on the night of May 11.
The Amritsar Smart City Corporation has now sent a letter to Samudra LED appreciating its contribution to the operation. A special mention is made of how, through the customised Lighting Management Software of Samudra LED, 80,000 street lights were switched on and off through a single command as per the desired timelines and directives of the Amritsar deputy commissioner's office. 'The feature was particularly useful, which added to the city/citizen safety during the four days of conflict,' says the letter.
Samudra LED undertakes energy-saving projects using their patented street lighting system for various municipal corporations. It supplies street lights that operate through an Internet of Things (IoT)-based control system. 'This is a remote system, so no matter where you are located geographically, you can still keep a watch on how the street lights are performing and how much power it is consuming, among other things. The centralised control and monitoring system is a combination of our in-house developed hardware and software,' says Anand.
He adds that if an administrator wants to change the operational hours of a locality's street lights, the company can easily configure it. 'If they tell us that in one particular area there is an activity happening for which the lights only in that area are to be powered on a little earlier than usual, we can do that at the touch of a button,' says Anand.
It was Samudra LED's managing director Prafulla Madhukar Thote – he had witnessed the India-Pakistan war of 1971 as a young man – who had insisted earlier: 'We need to have an emergency switch'. Anand says, 'This was 10-15 years ago. We asked why he wanted an emergency switch. He said, 'If there is a situation and we need to turn all the lamps off, we don't have any facility to do that'. He was firm that this feature had to be included. We are so proud of him today,' Anand adds.
The company lights up the streets of Jaipur, Sangli, and Baramati, besides Amritsar. 'We do not charge a single paise upfront from the municipal corporation. We install street lights and our entire lighting system for them at zero upfront cost,' he says. Their revenue model is based on a baseline audit, where they tell the municipality how much power they are consuming.
'We tell them that we can give you anywhere between 60 to 80 per cent energy saving. This is assured, not theoretical. So, for example, if the municipal corporation was paying Rs 1,000 as their monthly electricity bill before installing Samudra lights, then after installing our high-efficacy LED street lights, that amount will come down to Rs 200. From the Rs 800 saved monthly, we want them to give us Rs 700 and retain Rs 100 as incentive,' says Anand.
The company offers their service for more than a decade, during which they operate and maintain the lights, and ensure that they meet the assurance of energy saving. 'If we make a mistake anywhere, penalty clauses kick in,' says Anand. In Mumbai, areas under Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) use Samudra LED's street lights but the civic body has bought them instead of following the company's usual model.
At present, the team is quietly satisfied about the role it played during Operation Sindoor. 'As a Pune company that served India during Operation Sindoor, it was a proud moment,' says Anand Thote.
Dipanita Nath is interested in the climate crisis and sustainability. She has written extensively on social trends, heritage, theatre and startups. She has worked with major news organizations such as Hindustan Times, The Times of India and Mint. ... Read More