THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Lack of streetlights on the Kazhakoottam-Mukkola stretch is becoming a matter of concern for commuters. Although Technopark employees have been complaining about the difficulties caused due to lack of street lights, resolution of the issue is being delayed due to the road widening work by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
As the Kazhakoottam- Mukkola stretch is under NHAI, the corporation does not have the authority to install streetlights in the area. "Although the issue has been brought to our notice, no decision has been taken," said an official at the Mayor's office.
In addition, the non-functional streetlights on the stretches near the front and back gates of Technopark are putting the safety of women employees working on night shifts at stake. In order to address this, techies had met the Mayor following which, about 25 streetlights were installed by the city corporation immediately. “The Technopark-Kazhakoottam bypass service road is the main walkway for employees to reach the Kazhakoottam Junction. Though the streetlights were installed, most of them are now defunct,” said Rajeev Krishnan, secretary of Prathidhwani which is a welfare organisation of techies.
Due to poor visibility, many accidents occur on the stretch. In order to find out a solution, Group of Technology Companies (GTech), a collective of the information technology and business process management companies, have taken the issue up with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. They requested the state government to take proper steps regarding illumination in the IT park area.
“The state government had asked the corporation if they could install streetlights. However, they cited lack of funds. Therefore, we decided to use our funds but this is getting delayed due to the road widening work of the National Highway,” said Vishnu Nair, CEO of GTech.
Streetlights are the need of the hour as the traffic is being diverted to the stretch due to the Kazhakoottam flyover construction. "In a recent accident, an iron rod pierced into a two-wheeler rider's leg. Even pedestrians face difficulties due to the rods carelessly thrown on the roads,” said Vishnu.