A lamp post without a bulb in Patna. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Richa Thakur, a resident of road number 2 of Shiv Puri, fell in a waterlogged pothole at her colony while returning home at night.

“The mishap could have been averted. Had the streetlights been on, I could have seen the pothole,” said Thakur.

Not only Richa, others, too, are facing the same plight for over a year owing to defunct or missing street lamps.

Around a year has passed since Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) proposed installation of 3,600 compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) across the city but the project has hardly made any progress. Sources claimed that 50 CFLs in each of the 72 wards were to be set up with the consent of ward councillors and sanitary inspectors concerned.

At present, there are around 15,000 streetlights in the city but most are defunct. Several areas, including Patliputra Colony, Gardanibagh, Digha, Ashiana Road, Jagdeo Path, Rukkanpura, Serpentine Road, Indrapuri, AG Colony, Lodipur, Police Lines, Rajiv Nagar, Anisabad, Danapur, Khagaul, Rajendra Nagar and Patna City, plunge into darkness after sundown.

“Initially, the ward councillors showed interest but the sanitary inspectors held back work. However, after the sanitary inspectors gave their nod, councillors delayed the work. Such streetlights can hardly be seen anywhere in the city,” said a senior PMC official.

The PMC empowered standing committee, in a meeting held on November 27, 2012, had approved the CFL streetlight proposal. The scheme was approved by the PMC board in a meeting on December 5, 2012. According to the approved rate, a complete set, including an 85W CFL bulb, angle (to fit bulb) and igniter (switch), would have cost Rs 2,050.

Mayor Afzal Imam, however, claimed that work on installation of streetlights was progressing fast. Residents, however, begged to differ. “There are nearly 200 streetlights in my colony but most are defunct. I have never seen the authorities pay attention to problem,” said Patel Nagar resident Mehul Kumar.