KARACHI, Dec 4: Several main thoroughfares and streets of various localities in the city often present a scene of blackout because of the faulty street lights and the concerned towns are unable to energize them due to financial constraints.

Moreover, a major portion of the recently built Liaquat Flyover always remains plunged into darkness due to its faulty lights.

Admitting that the defunct district municipal corporations had abandoned the work of removing faulty street lights, a number of councillors of different towns and union councils said that the number of faulty street lights had soared to such an extent that it was not possible for the town administrations to energize such a huge number of faulty lights in one go.

The main thoroughfares, where one could see insufficient street lights, include Jehangir Road, a portion of S. M. Taufiq Road (from Tin Hatti bridge to Liaquatabad No 2), Soldier Bazaar and all roads situated in the periphery of Gurumandir and adjacent to the M. A. Jinnah Road’s extension.

A visit to different localities shows that not only the streets but even their commercial areas also often remain in darkness.

Some of these localities include PECHS Block 2, Sindhi Muslim Housing Society, Bahadurabad, Shah Faisal Colony, Jehangir Road, Martin Quarters, PIB, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Malir, and Orangi Town.

Residents of the affected localities regretted that although most of the street lights had been out of order since long, the concerned town officials were not taking interest in replacing them on one pretext or the other.

The residents of PECHS Block 2 and SMCHS deplored that though they had brought the lingering issue to the notice of officials of the concerned town, no measures had been taken to energize the faulty lights.

An elderly person of SMCHS complained that the lights of at least two main streets, connecting Block 2 with SMCHS roundabout, had been out of order for the last one year and no one knew when it would be energized because all his earlier complaints in this connection had yielded no results.

“In fact, whenever we remind the concerned officials and councillors about the faulty lights they always assure us that the problem will be resolved shortly but, so far, nothing has been done in this regard,” he added.

The residents of the affected localities demanded of the City Nazim, Naimatullah Khan, to direct the concerned towns to ensure proper street lightings in their respective jurisdictions so that anti-social elements might not take undue advantage of the dark streets.