Arteries and roads that connect blocks of Salt Lake are plunging into darkness as soon as the sun sets, thanks to defunct streetlights but the authorities have no plans to repair them.
Well-lit roads and streets act as a natural deterrent for criminal elements and during winter, with dusk setting in fast, defunct streetlights result in a cover of darkness that provide an opportunity to miscreants to indulge in a wide spectrum of crimes including snatching, thefts, eve-teasing, molestation and even rape attempts, a senior officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said.
According to data provided by the commissionerate, it has been generally observed during winters that incidents of thefts and snatching increase, particularly during early morning and at night, as do cases of eve-teasing and molestation.
Several main roads including the canal side road of the Eastern Drainage Canal that connects the township with EM Bypass at the Chingrighata crossing has few functional lights, forcing motorists to rely only on their headlights and no other Illumination to drive through the stretch.
Commuters enter Salt Lake from the Bypass through a well-lit road beside the Jal Vayu Vihar housing complex, near the Chingrighata crossing, but move into a dark zone near the Mahavir Vikas Housing Complex and the Kendriya Vidyalaya 2 school opposite Nicco Park.
To make matters worse, this road has several manholes that have their edges broken off resulting in deep and sharp craters.
For two-wheeler riders, it is extremely dangerous as cables lie on this road and there have been a few accidents when bikers had their wheels locked up after the cables got entangled with their wheels and chains.
The Kestopur canalside road too has several unlit stretches near AD Block and SA Block.
The crater-filled road leading towards the Anindita Island from Tank 13 in IA Block does not have a single light that works.
Several residents The Telegraph Salt Lake spoke to said they not only think twice before driving or riding at night but they also fear for their safety. “During winters there should be a focus on having illuminated streets. As it is, the roads are in a terrible condition and now even the streetlights have stopped working in several places across Salt Lake,” said Utsav Goswami, a resident of Purbachal Housing Complex.
“Not only is driving around the township turning into a dangerous affair but with defunct streetlights miscreants might take advantage of the darkness. We are apprehensive that there might be an increase in the number of snatching and other crimes."
A civic body source said that despite dysfunctional streetlights there has been no call for an e-tender by the corporation to carry out repairs. “We had carried out a survey to identify defunct streetlights but precious little has been done after that,” the source said.