Patna, May 31: They stand tall on the roads serving no purpose. Many of them are half broken, resembling wreckage.
The streetlights in the state capital have a sorry story to tell. While some are broken, many others have stopped functioning. . Residents complain, but many have given up. They have got used to their pleas falling on deaf ears.
While almost entire Patna has been affected with a streetlight disorder, some of the prominent areas, including Patliputra Colony, Gardanibagh, Kankerbagh, Digha, Aashiana Road, Jagdeopath-Rukunpura, Serpentine Road, Indrapuri, AG Colony, Lodipur, Police Lines, Rajivnagar, Anisabad, Danapur, Khagaul, Rajendra Nagar and Patna City are the worst sufferers.
Residents blamed the step-motherly treatment meted out by Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) for the situation.
Since the past 10 years, Patna Electricity Supply Unde rtaking (Pesu) and Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) have been taking care of streetlights in the city. However, in the past couple of months, the streetlights have been orphaned, literally. Sources in PMC said the civic body is in a fix as to whom to impose the burden of setting things straight.
“The matter was taken up at several meetings of the standing committee of PMC and at present we are planning to float tenders to invite companies for installation and maintenance of streetlights and high-mast lights. The company, which will be awarded the tender, will have to pay the charges to Pesu for the electricity consumed by these lights. Besides, the company would be allowed to give their advertisements on the electricity poles, for which the respective charges would have to be paid to PMC,†Afzal Imam, the PMC mayor, said.
Shashi Shekhar Sharma, the principal secretary of the urban development department, said the PMC should be responsible for providing infrastructure or fittings for streetlights in urban areas of Patna.
Sources in the Pesu said PMC had paid Rs 58 lakh to the undertaking in 2000 for maintenance of streetlights between 2000 and 2004. After the fund was exhausted, the complete utilisation report was submitted in 2004 and since then PMC was requested to maintain the streetlights.
Pesu sources said that during a very high-level meeting in September 2004, BSEB and Pesu were instructed to restart the work of maintenance of streetlights in Patna despite strong reservations of both. After the decision was taken, PMC deposited Rs 15 lakh in October 2004. After the fund was exhausted, another utilisation report was submitted.
“Rajivnagar has been infamous for criminal activities. Even though criminal activities have reduced in the past couple of years, absence of streetlights enhances the scope of such activities. Patliputra is a posh area and Gosaitola, which happens to be the epicentre of notorious activities, is just at its doorstep. Even then, there have been very few streetlights functioning at these places,†said Ravindra Kumar Singh, an advocate of Patna High Court, and a resident of Rajivnagar.