Poorly-lit streets raise safety concerns in Kerala capital

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The poorly-lit streets in many parts of the city are raising safety concerns among residents, pedestrians and motorists. Complaints regarding defunct streetlights are becoming a regular affair in all 100 wards. P Jayadevan Nair, president of the Fraternity of Residents Association Thiruvananthapuram (FRAT), blamed the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and City Corporation for the ill-lit streets. This is a huge concern for the residents and we have been raising this issue for a long time. We are getting a lot of complaints from residents of all 100 wards regarding faulty streetlights. When we take up the issue with the KSEB, they come up with many excuses. Some of the residents associations are ready to make the purchases for replacing and fixing the faulty streetlights, said Jayadevan Nair. Many of the streetlights on the 42km city roads managed by the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) are non-functional. City Corporations Works standing committee chairperson Medayil Vikraman accused KRFB of not maintaining the streetlights on the roads under their jurisdiction. The Mayor has written several letters to the KRFB asking them to take steps to fix the issue, he said. An official of the KRFB said that all faulty streetlights would be replaced soon. Preparations have been made to get the work done. There is a delay because of the rain, said the official. Meanwhile, Kowdiar ward councillor Sathi Devi said the high mast light near Vivekananda Park at Kowdiar has been lying defunct for months. People visiting the park feel more safe with the high mast light. I took up the issue with the KRFB authorities. Its been weeks and they have promised to fix it soon, she said. Earlier, the streetlights were managed by KSEB and owing to high maintenance cost and electricity bills, the civic body decided to switch over from neon lights to energy-efficient LED lights. Private agencies were roped in to manage the streetlights. However, despite strict contractual clauses, the agencies are struggling to address the complaints. There were issues and the agencies have stepped in. They are replacing the faulty lights without delays like before. Now, the corporation is allotting 50 new streetlights in every ward, said Vikraman.