KARACHI: The city administration has finally moved to begin the process of repairing and illuminating street lights alongside the construction of roads amid growing complaints of road accidents, street crimes and traffic blockades due to darkness even on major road links of the metropolis.

The Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab formally made the announcement moved on Thursday that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) had been tasked with the job, claiming that the initiative will be gradually implemented across all seven districts of Karachi.

“The engineering department has been instructed to maintain the street lights on 106 roads in proper condition and to monitor them regularly,” he said in a statement. “Soon, like the KMC’s head office, the streetlights on major roads will also be converted to a solar panel system to ensure they remain lit despite power outages from K-Electric.”

The Mayor emphasised a zero-tolerance policy regarding Karachi’s infrastructure, roads, and streetlights, saying that there will be no compromise on the quality of work. He asked the director general of the Engineering Department to form teams that will conduct daily inspections of the roads and maintain the streetlights.

“The streetlights on major roads in District South, such as Shahrah-i-Ghalib, Marine Drive, Clifton Bridge, Mai Kolachi Road, MT Khan Road, MA Jinnah Road, Nishtar Road, Steel Bridge, and Jinnah Bridge near Regent Plaza have been fully restored,” he said.

“Additionally, work is being done in phases to repair streetlights on Shahrah-i-Liaquat, I.I. Chundrigar Road, Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road, PIDC Chowrangi, Agha Khan Road, Garden Zoo Road, Bath Island, Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah Road, Mumtaz Hasan Road, Hasrat Mohani Road, Kacheri Road, and Preedy Street in Saddar.”

He said that the illumination of streetlights would also help reduce street crime and improve traffic flow, and also instructed the Parks Department to illuminate the streetlights in parks and install high-mast lighting poles in major parks across Karachi.

“The experience of keeping streetlights illuminated at Kidney Hill using solar panels has been successful, and very soon, solar panel systems will be installed in 45 major parks to facilitate their illumination alongside the roads,” he said. “I want KMC to become self-sufficient in terms of electricity supply, managing the provision of electricity for all parks, markets, roads, and buildings independently. This target is challenging but it is not impossible and they would achieve it soon.”

By using solar panels for electricity supply, he said that not only will the roads, parks, and buildings be illuminated, but the KMC will also save millions in expenses.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2024