Faulty lights plunge streets in Salt Lake into darkness
Times of India | 19 May 2024
Kolkata: A number of stretches in Salt Lake are plunging into darkness after sunset due to dysfunctional street lights.
TOI spotted at least four such stretches on Thursday evening, where street lights were either not working or were much dimmer than what it should be. At many spots, the lights were covered by canopies of trees, leaving motorists solely dependent on vehicle headlights.
One such stretch was the first cross road from Anindita bus stop towards Laboni, where many of the street lights were not functioning.A long stretch from CGO complex crossing towards CAP camp island was pitch dark with no streetlights were working on a long stretch. “This is not the first time. Previously, it has been seen that the streetlights had turned dysfunctional,” said Sankhadeep Roy Chowdhury, a resident of Salt Lake AE block.
The stretch from CGO complex crossing to Central Park metro station was also found to be dark with only a few lights working. A stretch of the Broadway road which connects Central Park with EM Bypass was also found to be dark with street lights not properly working. Streetlights on certain stretches of the long canal side road along the eastern drainage channel are not working.
Motorists said that driving, especially riding a bike through the dark stretches, is dangerous due to potholes and craters developing on many such roads. “Street lights not functioning only adds to the problem,” said Kawshik Dutta, a resident of Salt Lake BD block. Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials said the streetlights are periodically checked and measures are being taken accordingly. “There are standing instructions to regularly carry out checks to see whether street lights are in proper condition,” said a civic official.
While power is supplied by the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL), BMC is responsible for maintaining the lighting system along with the poles.
Civic authorities said that they were working on a continuous process to switch to LED street lights across BMC area, replacing the old sodium vapour lights. The authorities recently sanctioned 20 LED street lights for each of the 41 wards of BMC. “Presently there are around 30,000 LED street lights across BMC area,” said an official.