Lamp posts defunct, Belgharia E-way plunges into darkness
Times of India | 23 December 2024
123 Kolkata: The 3km stretch on the airport-bound Belgharia Expressway — between Dakshineswar and Dum Dum — doesn't have a single functioning street light, causing the area to plunge into darkness after sundown.
All 71 lamp posts carrying the lights along this stretch had been lying defunct for at least six months amid an ongoing dispute between the National Highway Authority and the Baranagar and Dum Dum municipalities. These agencies have been passing the buck when it comes to carrying out the restoration of the lamp posts. The prolonged darkness on this high-speed corridor has posed serious risks to commuters, pedestrians, traffic police, and motorcyclists. "The area has also turned into a hub for criminals, so much so that we are scared to walk there after dark. Vehicle headlights are now the sole source of light from Dakshineswar to Dum Dum's Mathkal," Nripen Karmakar, a local resident, said. Suman Das, a local trader, alleged that despite repeated appeals to all the agencies, nothing had been done yet to restore the illumination. Requesting anonymity, a senior traffic guard official of Barrackpore Commissionerate told TOI that the cops had requested NHAI, PWD and the civic authorities for the repair multiple times, barely eliciting any response from the other side.
Ramkrishna Paul, CIC, Baranagar Municipality, alleged that the underground power cables in the area were damaged due to extension works executed by NHAI on a connector road of NH-12. "We have already informed our civic department concerned, which will start repair and replace the lights immediately," Aparna Moulick, chairman of Baranagar Municipality, said.
A senior official of the Dum Dum Municipality said the civic body would start the repairs. An NHAI official, however, said the onus of maintenance of lights wasn't on them.
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