When a Bengaluru street lit up first time

Sadhana Attavar writes how a gold rush, a roaring waterfall and a visionary power project made Bengaluru one of Asia’s earliest electrically lit cities

“The day must come when electricity will be for everyone, as the waters of the rivers and the wind of heaven. It should not merely be supplied, but lavished, that men may use it at their will, as the air they breathe.”

As Émile Zola predicted in his 1901 novel Travail (Work), electricity has indeed become ubiquitous, and today, it is hard to imagine going even a single day without it.

Yet, when Travail was published, the reality was starkly different. Then, most cities across the world relied on pitch-soaked wooden torches, oil lamps, kerosene lanterns and candles for illumination. Gradually, however, this began to change, and in India, Bangalore (now, Bengaluru) stood at the heart of that transformation. 

Before the advent of electricity, India’s urban centres, including Bengaluru, were lit largely by kerosene lamps. Here, these lamps were maintained by a dedicated team of three lamplighters and an inspector. In some areas, such as the Cantonment market, gas streetlights pioneered by William Murdoch in 1792 were also used. But the transition to electricity began with arc lamps in Mysore (now, Mysuru). 

According to Gajanana Sharma, a writer and an engineer who worked with the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL), one of the earliest recorded instances of electric lighting in India occurred on May 26, 1878, when the Mysore Palace yard was illuminated with 12 imported arc lamps powered by a dynamo during the wedding of Maharaja Chamarajendra Wodeyar X. The most dramatic change in streetlighting, however, came with the advent of the practical incandescent bulb invented by Thomas Alva Edison in 1879. 

Laying of electric power transmission line at Shivanasamudra. Photo: KPCL 

Electricity for Kolar 

But streetlighting was not the initial trigger for electrification in this region. Instead, it was driven by a hunger for gold. In its early years, the mining machinery at the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) was powered by steam, but deeper excavation demanded electricity. Recognising this need, John Taylor and Sons, which operated the mines, approached the then Mysore government seeking electric power for KGF.

In response, the Mysore government under Diwan Sir K Seshadri Iyer considered the possibility of harnessing the Shivanasamudra waterfalls for hydroelectric generation in 1899. After studying the Niagara Falls power installation in the United States, Captain Lotbinière, the deputy chief engineer of Mysore State, proposed using the enormous force of the river plunging 419 feet at Shivanasamudra to drive massive turbines and generate electric power for KGF. 

A hydroelectric power project of this magnitude was unprecedented in India. With the support of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the Cauvery Power Scheme was formally launched in 1900 with an initial capacity of 4,000 hp. The machinery for the plant was manufactured by Escher Wyss & Co, Switzerland, and the American corporation General Electric Company.

Generating electricity, however, was only half the challenge. The 4,000 hp generated had to be transmitted nearly 148 km to KGF. To achieve this, the voltage was stepped up to 35,000 volts using transformers and transmitted through 148 km of copper line before stepping it down at the Kolar mines. 

When the 35 kV transmission line was laid completely in 1901, it became the longest high-voltage, high-power line in the world. This was an impressive achievement, considering that the famous Niagara Falls–Buffalo transmission line, laid in 1895, spanned 35 km and carried 1,000 hp.     

On June 30, 1902, Lady Agnes Robertson, wife of British Resident of Mysore, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Donald Robertson, formally switched on the power supply to KGF. The Shivanasamudra station thus became one of Asia’s earliest hydroelectric plants and continues to operate even today.

Electrification of Bengaluru

The original electrical streetlamp post from 1905. Photo by author

The Shivanasamudra station was soon generating a surplus of nearly 300–400 hp. Therefore, in 1904, William McHutchin, chief engineer of Mysore, proposed to the Mysore government to utilise the excess power to electrify Bengaluru. The Mysore government accepted the proposal on April 4, 1904 and the work to install a 92 km, 35 kV single-circuit line from the Shivanasamudra Hydroelectric Power Station to Bengaluru via Kanakapura, soon began. A small substation, simply known as ‘M Station’, was established near Bengaluru’s Victoria Hospital to distribute power to the City. 

The first phase included over a hundred streetlights installed at Siddakatte, now known as KR Market. On August 5, 1905, Sir John Hewett, a member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council, formally switched on these lights, making Bengaluru one of the first cities in Asia to adopt electric street lighting. Soon, additional switching stations were established, and within just ten months, Bengaluru had 861 streetlights and 1,639 domestic electricity connections. Today, two of the original 30-foot wrought-iron streetlamp posts from 1905 still survive, preserved at the head office of the Greater Bengaluru Authority at Corporation Circle. 

Societal impact

An arc lamp. Photo courtesy: Dr Gajanana Sharma

The transition from kerosene lamps to electric lighting marked a turning point in Bengaluru’s history, accelerating its modernisation and shaping its scientific identity. It helped Bengaluru establish itself as an important centre for education and research, beginning with the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. It also supported industrialisation, with Binny Mills becoming the first major industry to receive power under a contract demand of 500 hp.

Turbines being set up at Shivanasamudra Hydroelectric Power Station. Photo: KPCL

After independence, electrification propelled the industrial growth of Bengaluru. In the decades that followed, the city’s industrial strength, combined with its educational and research infrastructure, created the ideal foundation for its eventual emergence as India’s IT capital.

(Starting this week, we will publish a monthly series of articles on the scientific history of the Bengaluru–Mysuru region, authored in collaboration with the National Centre for Biological Sciences)