The ambitious project of installing 5,000 LED streetlights has been caught in red tape.
While the progress has been extremely sluggish, the few lights having been set up in some thoroughfares have stopped functioning within a few days of installation.
On June 20, The Telegraph carried a report on the poor status of streetlights in the city, following which the urban development and housing department asked Bihar Urban Infrastructure Road Development Corporation (BUIDCo) to install new LED streetlights on the Old Bypass and Kurji-Digha road. BUIDCo is the executing agency for installation of streetlights.
"We have done a survey of Kurji-Digha and Old Bypass roads. Work on erecting streetlights on these two thoroughfares would start from next week," said a senior official of BUIDCo looking after the project. Kurji-Danapur road lacks poles for purpose of installing streetlights, while most street lamps on Old Bypass are defunct for quite long.
BUIDCo started installing new LED streetlights from the first week of February. A total of 39 poles with fixtures were installed on Serpentine Road. Another 28 poles were erected on Shaheed Peer Ali Marg (Airport Road) in the first week of February. However, many streetlights on these two roads are not functioning.
On the reason behind defunct lights, the official said: "The LED lights on Ashiana-Digha road are divided in three parts. While the electricity meters for the first stretch have been installed, the same for the remaining are yet to be installed owing to which lights are not functioning on that stretch. So far as those on Serpentine Road are concerned, underground cables connecting those lights have got severed near Hartali Mor owing to the construction of a drain."
The BUIDCo official added that LED streetlights have been installed all around Gandhi Maidan over the past few days and those would start functioning from next week.
The official added that the urban development and housing department has sent a proposal to replace defunct lights on Gandhi Setu with new LED lights under the same project.
Though BUIDCo is making tall claims about improving the streetlight scenario under their ambitious project, most road overbridges (ROB), including Chiraiyatand, Rajendra Nagar and Rupaspur (over Danapur-Digha canal) among others remain still remain dark at night as all streetlights are defunct.
As a consequence of the darkened streets, minor accidents are quite frequent. Motorists have to be extra cautious to avoid mishaps, as they do not have the assistance of street lamps.
"Driving vehicles in the dark is risky as monsoon has set in. Authorities should take immediate steps to improve the situation in this regard," said Rajan Kumar, a resident of New Dakbungalow.
