Darkness can be spotted even in many strteches of the capital’s roads that appear to be well-lit. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 7: Inadequate street lighting coupled with poor road conditions has made driving in the capital at night extremely cumbersome and hazardous.

Although most traffic junctions across the city are lit up, vast stretches in several areas are not satisfactorily illuminated. The roads either have no streetlights, or are marked with flickering, faulty or damaged lights.

The road from Gopabandhu Square to Siripur Square, a large stretch of Kargil Road, and stretches of roads from Phulnakhara to Palasuni, Khandagiri to Naka Gate, Acharya Vihar to Sainik School, Dumduma Housing Board Colony, Sundarpada and many other areas make driving a challenging affair.

Concerned about their safety and security, residents in many dark patches of the city are clamouring for illumination. “Forget about the two-armed lights, we do not even have a single light in this area extending up to the drainage channel no. 4. The stretch leading from the airport to Raj Bhavan is well maintained and brightly lit as VIPs use that road. Other areas remain in a precarious condition,” said an elderly woman, who resides in an apartment at Jayadev Vihar.

“Lack of illumination of streets is a major issue for which many cases of theft and other anti-social activities take place in the area,” she added. While the roads are being constantly expanded owing to a significant increase in the number of vehicles in recent years, road safety conditions have hardly kept pace with this development.

Last August, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) asked the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to return an amount of Rs 3.73 crore given by it to carry out an illumination project on the 13km stretch of the NH-5 between Palasuni and Baramunda. According to the NHAI, the four-laned road would be widened into a six-lane one and so the investment on lights would be futile. Although a few light poles had been erected by that time, it continues to do without lights owing to this.

Nearly 50,000 vehicles ply on this 13km route of the highway — which passes through the heart of the city connecting major residential and commercial areas — on a daily basis. About 373 accidents took place on this stretch of the highway in the year 2009.

“Besides commuters, absence of streetlights has also posed a threat to the life of traffic personnel on duty. In 2009, a traffic constable and a home guard were killed and three traffic personnel injured while on duty on this stretch of the highway,” said a police officer.

Moreover, the absence of fluorescent indicators or solar markers along the road dividers also poses a threat while driving down the bumpy, winding roads. For instance, busy roads stretching from the nine-storeyed Directors’ Building towards Power House Square and beyond, or even Rasulargh Square en route to Cuttack, have witnessed several mishaps.

Poor lighting often forces motorists to drive with high beams, which is not allowed while driving within the city, and is one of the major reasons for accidents.

“High beam driving virtually blinds other drivers. You cannot see what would come in front of you – pedestrians, animals or potholes. You might end up losing your balance and injuring yourself,” said Amruta Mohapatra, a college student.