Patna, July 18: The city streets will remain dark this Diwali, as senior Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) officers have turned down the civic body’s empowered standing committee’s proposal to install streetlights in all the 72 wards of the corporation area.

Sources said the PMC commissioner believed that installing streetlights with an estimated cost of Rs 1.15 crore would be an extravagance and refused to give permission to float tenders for the work.

The move has drawn severe criticism from the mayor, Afzal Imam, his deputy and councillors.