Ggn citizens want councillors to fix poor street lighting

Gurugram: In the upcoming civic polls, the voters of Gurugram hope that the councilors who will be elected by them on September 24 will fix the problem of street lighting across different parts of the city.

Even as the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) installed street lighting in some areas, large parts of the city continue to be in dark zones due to defunct street lights which continue to pose a risk to safety for the citizens in the city.

The presence of dark spots in Gurugram is adding to the dangers of working women in the city who have to travel during night time. In a strong worded letter to the district administration senior officials of Gurugram police highlighted that how dark zones are used as advantage by molesters to harass women.

In 2016 due to non operational street lights, an auto driver tried to kidnap a journalist intern outside her office complex in Udyog Vihar.

Even the commuters are at risk since the major areas in the city where the traffic is high continue to be in dark even as the street lights have been installed.

Areas like Gurugram – Faridabad road, Golf Course road, Golf Course extension road, Udyog Vihar, Sector-23 and Sector-10 have reported the problems of street lights.

There are four government agencies that include the MCG, Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) that are in charge of maintaining the street lighting in the area.

"The presence of multiple agencies is a major reason towards poor street lighting in the city. Today a normal citizen is confused that which agency he should go to for the complaints. MCG, however, cannot get away from its responsibility and should be held accountable," said Amardeep Singh, a city resident.

Meanwhile, the officials from MCG concede that lack of coordination between the agencies is a challenge that stalls work.