KARACHI, Oct 13: Most of the city areas often remain in the darkness owing to faulty street-lights, adding fears among the general public.
A visit to different parts of the city showed that a number of main roads and various streets of different localities either do not have proper lighting or their lights are out of order since long.
One could also see police extorting money from motorists, in general and motorcyclists and passersby, in particular on one pretext or the other while standing at dark roads and streets.
Even the vehicular traffic passing through the newly-built Liaquat Flyover has been facing difficulties as almost half of its lights have been out of order since its inaugural in April.
Likewise, the lights of busy Tin Hatti bridge are not functioning for the past one year and the authorities concerned instead of energising the faulty lights had affixed two powerful light on either side of it, making the motorists blind.
Similarly, accidents on main Ibne-i-Sina Road at night have become a routine as one of its track which was dug up more than a year back for plugging leakages of pipeline passing underneath it was lying abandoned while the other track which was nowadays being used as dual carriage-way has very poor lighting arrangements.
Moreover, some other busy thoroughfares which include main Jehangir Road, S.M. Taufiq Road, a major portion of M. A. Jinnah Road’s extension and some other major link roads, situated in the periphery of Mohammad Bin Qasim
Road (formerly known as Burnes Road), Soldier Bazar, Guru Mandir, Quaid’s Mausoleum, Islamia Science College, Sindhi Muslim Housing Society, etc, remain in the darkness owing to faulty street-lights.
Residents of the affected localities of the city deplored that on the one hand their streets present a frightful scene in the absence of street-lights and on the other the population of stray dogs in their localities was continuously increasing as the civic agencies had not undertaken anti-pye dog campaigns since long.
They also complained that poor lighting arrangements together with dilapidated condition of streets had also created problems for motorists.
Residents of different localities said that they face a lot of difficulties in visiting their Mohalla mosques, particularly during Isha and Fajr prayers because of faulty street-lights and also due to roaming of stray dogs on their streets.
Most of such complaints have been received from residents of Burnes Road, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Sindhi Muslim Housing Society, PECHS Block 2, PIB Colony, Malir, Khokhrapar, Soldier Bazar, Jehangir and Martin quarters.
They regretted that although most of street-lights of their localities had been lying out of order since long, the officials of the concerned towns had not yet bothered to replace the faulty street-lights
and whenever they approach their area councillors they express their helplessness on account of shortage of funds.
The perturbed citizens demanded of the Sindh governor and the city Nazim to instruct the concerned officials to help resolve the lingering issue of faulty street lights on priority, or else anti-social elements might indulge in nefarious and immoral activities taking undue advantage of dark roads and streets.
