JAGATSINGHPUR: Dysfunctional street lights in Jagatsinghpur town have led to rising in instances of snatching, loot and other crimes in the last six months. Even as hundreds of street lights in the town are not functioning for months, neither the Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department nor Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd have taken any steps to replace them.
In 2018, the H&UD department signed an agreement with Crompton Greaves Electricals Ltd for universal coverage of smart LED street lighting in all urban local bodies in the state including Jagatsinghpur municipality. The department had also entered into an agreement with Energy Efficiency Services Ltd for the implementation of Street Lighting National Programme.
As per the agreement, Crompton is required to install new electric poles fitted with energy-efficient smart LED street lights for an initial period of seven years. The company is also supposed to maintain the lights during the period. However, since Crompton and EESL have taken over the installation and maintenance of the street lights in the town, the situation has worsened.
As per records, Jagatsinghpur municipality has 3,564 street lights in its 21 wards of which around 530 have been lying defunct since September, 2022. On September 2, 2022 collector Parul Patwari had urged the additional secretary of H&UD department to repair the lights. However, nothing was done in this regard. In fact, during a meeting of the civic body’s council, executive officer Ashok Kumar Karna said the municipality cannot buy LED lights from its own funds as it has already entered into an agreement with the two agencies for seven years.
However, the inaction of the department, the civic body and the companies has emerged as a cause of concern for locals. Sources said at least 115 street lights in the town are being operated under Installation of Centralised Control and Management System (ICCMS) which allows automated control capabilities and prevents wastage of electricity. But the points are not functioning due to which the bulbs remain lit 24X7 resulting in electricity wastage.