Gurugram's streets continue to be poorly illuminated

Gurugram: Despite a greater budgetary allocation for installation of LED street lights across the city, various hurdles are seemingly preventing the project from being realised.

Moreover, despite public agencies claiming to have successfully installed LED lights in various parts of the city, most are seemingly functioning poorly.

The reply to a recent RTI query revealed that a total of 58,120 street lights are under the purview of Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG).

In the last two years, MCG has spent Rs 3,53,84,707 for their maintenance. The RTI reply also states that while there were 57,964 street lights in 2014 in the city, only 156 street lights have been installed in the last three months.

In certain stretches, like Sukhrali, Sikanderpur underpass and Sheetala Mata Road, there have also been incidents where the street lights are in a poor condition or have been stolen.

Such is the poor condition of street lights in the city that the two kilometre stretch of Mall Mile remains poorly lit even during weekends, when large crowds throng the area for shopping.

The abundance of dark spots in Gurugram is adding to the woes of working women, who have to travel at late hours.

Many commuters face are also at risk in Gurugram dark stretches, where fast moving traffic is still a menace.

Further, poorly functioning street lights is a major cause of rising cases of thefts and snatching in the city.

Other areas in the city, like Gurugram–Faridabad road, Golf Course Road, Golf Course extension road, Udyog Vihar, Sector 23 and Sector 10 face the same problem.

Five government organisations are in charge of the maintenance of street lighting in different parts of the city, namely MCG, Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) and Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).

Yet, poor maintenance of street lights continues to be a major challenge. Many resident welfare associations in the district have also pointed out to the lack of a centralised body for maintenance of street lights.