Driving and even walking through Salt Lake’s roads after sundown is turning out to be risky as most plunge into darkness because of faulty street lights.
Lamp posts are installed at an interval of 20 to 25m on all main roads as well as lanes in the 52 blocks in all three sectors of the township.
Residents, however, complained that a large number of street lights have been dysfunctional. Many of them said they are scared of walking or driving through these stretches at night because snatchers and other petty criminals can target them taking advantage of the darkness.
The Telegraph drove and walked through various blocks in all three sectors of Salt Lake after dusk on Sunday and found most lanes and even some arteries were dark.
The road that leads to Calcutta University's Salt Lake campus from AMRI Hospitals Salt Lake does not have a single functioning street light for the entire stretch of 500m. The road from the university campus to the Canal Bank Road is in a similar state.
Parts of Broadway, an arterial road that cuts across the township and connects it with the EM Bypass, has long stretches that are devoid of lights.
The road that connects the Chingrighata intersection with Salt Lake’s EE Block, which runs parallel to the Eastern Drainage Canal, has less than four functional street lights. This road connects every block in Salt Lake.
In Sector I, large stretches of the road along the Kestopur canal are completely dark at night. “We have sent several letters to the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation but no action has been taken,” said Sandipan Pyne, a resident of AE Block.
The corporation is responsible for the maintenance of the lighting systems and the lamp posts, while the cables are maintained by the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL), which supplies power.
A senior WBSEDCL official said all their supply lines to street lights were fine as they had conducted a check recently after being told that many of them had been malfunctioning.
A senior official of the civic body said they would soon conduct a survey of the areas where lights had stopped working. “Engineers have been directed to carry out a survey where the lights need to be repaired or replaced,” he said.
Mayor Krishna Chakraborty said she had asked all councillors to list areas where street lights need “urgent attention”.
“We will start repairs based on their feedback,” Chakraborty said.