Darkness shrouds Jessore Road, in the absence of street lights. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

A disaster is waiting to strike on a long and vital stretch of Jessore Road, which plunges into a deathly darkness after sundown, but neither the public works department (PWD) nor the two municipalities of Dum Dum will think of the easiest way out — installing street lights.

According to a senior engineer in the PWD’s electrical wing, lights of 70 watt to 450 watt are used on streets, depending on the distance between two lamp posts. When the wattage is less, the distance between two lamp posts is also less.

But it’s a different story on Jessore Road. The stretch from Dum Dum airport’s gate No. 1 to the Nagerbazar crossing has very few street lamps and that too far between.

“Driving two-wheelers on this stretch is really tough once the daylight is gone. There are almost no streetlights Gate no. 1 onwards. Where there are lights, the distance between two lamp posts is about 100m. They serve no purpose,” said Arijit Dutta, a medical representative.

There is not a single lamppost between Ordnance Factory and airport gate No. 1. Though Dum Dum Municipality claims to have installed sodium vapour lamps on the stretch, local residents have a different story to tell.

The absence of streetlights is helping hooch dens in the area. “It’s pitch dark after sunset. There is a country liquor shop near Kaikhali and more such shops have mushroomed off Jessore Road, taking advantage of the darkness,” said Dulal Haldar, who owns a shop near Jessop.

The civic authorities are aware of the perils on this pathway but passing the buck is the best they can do.

The chairman of South Dum Dum Municipality, which oversees the dark Jessore Road stretch between Kajipara and Nagerbazar, blamed the PWD.

“It is the PWD’s duty to install street lights. We have written to them several times. We had installed solar lamps from Patipukur to Bangur but the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA) couldn’t finish the work as they ran out of supply,” said Srihir Bhattacharya, the municipality chairman.

Swaraj Gopal Chatterjee, the vice-chairman of the municipality, admitted to lapses on their part: “The lack of street lights is indeed a major problem that needs to be solved. We had a meeting with the PWD about 18 months back. We will have to write to the PWD top brass again.”

The PWD is not bothered by the situation.

“Inadequate lighting is a problem on the stretch but we don’t plan to immediately install street lights in this area,” said Prabir Maiti, the executive engineer of north Calcutta (electrical division) of PWD.