‘Conduct systematic survey of street lighting to rid dark zones’

Kolkata: To ensure there are no dark zones in the city, Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Firhad Hakim has directed the Lighting department to conduct systematic surveys and submit reports accordingly.

It was learnt that directions have been issued for compilation of weekly and monthly reports based on the inspection rounds conducted by the executive engineers made in charge of specific zones in the city. Further, the zonal executive engineers will be in-charge of ensuring that inspection is carried out with no lapses.

Following the completion of a weekly inspection, a report will be compiled and will be submitted to the deputy chief engineer of the Lighting department. Such a report will have to highlight the zones which have poor lighting or have none presently. Based on such a report, the director general of the Lighting department will compile a status report which will be submitted to the municipal commissioner. Based on this, a project report will be compiled to address the lighting issues in the respective zones.

The civic body has started such an exercise in the wake of complaints received from citizens about dysfunctional trident lamps and LED lights in certain areas. During the recent monthly meeting, Firhad Hakim had clarified that he wants no compromise with lighting on the streets and directed that all necessary steps be taken as soon as possible.

Member-Mayor-In-Council (MMIC) of the Lighting department Sandip Bakshi told the media that the Mayor wants issues such as lack of illumination addressed before citizens’ complaints reach him during the ‘Talk to Mayor’ programme.

Further, it was learnt that these dark zones which remain devoid of light also quickly turn into anti-social dens which includes drinking and gambling on the road. This disturbs peace in the area. One such example are the neighbourhoods which are away from the link road at EM Bypass. There are several dark zones in these areas.