Bhubaneswar, Jan. 31: The stretch between AG Square and Raj Bhavan Square has been stolen of its charm.

Till around two years ago, ornamental street lights used to dot the busy road, but thieves have looted the stretch of its beauty.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation thought it fit to remove all the light posts fearing that the thieves might steal the costly poles after having stolen bulbs.

An official of the corporation said that as the lights had been stolen, the posts were anyway not serving any purpose. “Even some poles made of cast iron went missing. We suspect that the goons, who had taken away the bulbs earlier, may have stolen the poles as well. So, we dismantled the poles and brought them back on our premises,” said executive engineer of division I of the civic body R.N. Mallick.

The goons have targeted the light posts, along the footpaths on both sides of the road. The posts were around 12-foot tall. In May 2012, police arrested three criminals hailing from Bengal for their involvement in the theft of the ornamental lights. The goons were living but living at Mali Sahi of the city. They had sold the bulbs in Bengal. However, despite the arrest, theft of the costly bulbs has not stopped.

The stretch used to house 58 roadside light posts.

“This stretch is important due to the presence of a number of government offices, including the secretariat nearby. Designed pedestrian pathways, date palm trees planted on the median and ornamental lights were a visual delight for the city residents. So, the decision of the civic body to remove the lights is a regressive step though the same agency often emphasises on beautification. Besides, commuters are also finding it difficult in late night hours due to less visibility,” said Unit-IV resident Arabinda Sahu.

Sources said every pole would cost around Rs 20,000. Each post carried two ornamental light-metal halide lights each costing Rs 15,000. The light posts had been installed in the public private partnership mode.

“Once stolen, the lights could be replaced only with a new pole. We have removed these poles according to the decision of the corporation, and when necessary, the poles would be used again,” said assistant electrical engineer of the municipal corporation Ajit Kumar Behera.

However, another civic body official said there had been no decision so far about replacements of the lights. But he said that whenever new light posts were installed they would be higher than the present ones to prevent thefts. The work will be done again in the public private partnership mode.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said the low height of these light posts had facilitated the theft. “We will see what we can do for this stretch. But this time, we will ensure that the height of the poles is more,” he said.

He, however, said there would be another project in which more light posts would be installed on the stretch between AG Square and BJD party office near Forest Park.