As many as 18,000 streetlights installed across the town under the 14th Finance Commission tenure are lying defunct due to poor maintenance including the non-payment to contractors.

The streetlights installed on Polytechnic road near the Bekar Bandh pond are in the worst condition. Those on Joraphatak road are posing threat to commuters as a majority of them are rusted.

Madhurendra Singh, a social worker of Dhanbad who is also the former president of Bartand Chamber of Commerce, said: “At several places, the wires in switch boxes are lying open.”

“We have raised the issue with the Dhanbad Municipal Commissioner Satyendra Kumar three days ago and also demanded immediate repair of all the non-functional street lights through various agencies including EESL and Surya. As per the agreement, they must maintain the street lights for seven and five years respectively,” said Singh.

Anand Chaurasia, a resident of Bekar Bandh in Dhanbad, said, “The number of streetlights had been increased when Dhanbad roads were being renovated. However, the streets become risky for commuters as most of them are non-functional.”

Gulshan Bhatia, a resident of Gandhi road who owns a shop at Shakti Mandir at Joraphatak has expressed concerns about the tilting lamp posts claiming that it to be a hazard for motorists and pedestrians.

Assistant engineer (electrical) of Dhanbad Municipal Corporation Jay Kumar said, “Though the condition of street lights in some areas like polytechnic road is bad, we are working hard to restore their operation. Things are improving gradually. It got delayed due to delay in payments to the contractors.”

“We are trying our best to restore all the street lights as soon as possible,” said Kumar.