Several councillors, including the ruling Trinamul Congress representatives of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, on Saturday admitted that street lights were not working in several places in their wards and demanded immediate repair of the lights.
The councillors made the demand at a board of councillors meeting held at Poura Bhavan, the headquarters of the BMC on Friday.
The Telegraph had reported on multiple occasions how several stretches of roads across Salt Lake roads plunge into darkness after dusk because of non-working street lights.
The non-working street lights are not only spotted on arterial roads but also on streets that cross residential blocks of the township’s all three sectors.
Ranjan Poddar, the councillor of Ward 34 who is also the chairman of Borough VI, said there were several places in his ward in Sector III of the township where street lights had stopped working.
“We as councillors are carrying out repairs as much as we can by engaging our workers. The civic body also needs to repair the lights by sending central teams,” said Poddar.
At least three other Salt Lake councillors echoed Poddar.
They said their areas too were facing the same problem of broken street lights. This was only not inconveniencing motorists and pedestrians but was also posing a security risk for the residents.
“The problem is not only for motorists and pedestrians but it also affects the entire ambience of a locality. A place that has a bright lighting system makes the area look more beautiful after sundown,” said a councillor.
On Saturday, this newspaper spotted several dark stretches along Canalside Road of the Eastern drainage canal that connects the township with EM Bypass at the Chingrighata crossing.
The situation was similar in front of the Calcutta University’s Salt Lake campus as well as the road that leads from the Amul island near the Salt Lake stadium to the Canalside Road.
Kestopur Canalside Road too has several unlit stretches near AD and SA blocks.
The crater-filled road leading towards the Anindita island from tank No. 13 in IB Block does not have a single light that works.
One of officials from BMC’s lighting department said that despite the fact that many street lights across the township have stopped working, there has been no call for an e-tender by the corporation to carry out repairs.
“A survey was undertaken to identify defunct street lights but little has been done after that,” the source said.
A senior police officer of Bidhannagar commissionerate said well-illuminated roads and streets act as a deterrent to miscreants.
According to figures and geographical data provided by the commissionerate, it has been generally observed that incidents of theft and snatching generally go up at dawn and night as do cases of eve-teasing and molestation when there is not enough light.
