T’puram: More than one-fourth (27%) of streetlights maintained by Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) on some of the busiest roads in Thiruvananthapuram city are not functioning, according to an official assessment by city police, prompting police to seek urgent repairs citing road safety concerns.A communication from city police commissioner Arul R B Krishna to KRFB chief executive officer last week shows that 292 of the 1,089 streetlights inspected across eight major road stretches were found to be non-functional. Another 14 lights were only partially working, leaving only 783 lights fully functional.The Thampanoor flyover–Pallichal corridor has been accounted for the highest number of defunct lights, with 162 of the 596 streetlights found to be non-functional. The Pattoor–Domestic Airport stretch recorded 71 non-functioning lights out of 252.The inspection also found that 22 of the 47 streetlights between Secretariat Gate 2 and East Fort were not working, while the Museum–LMS stretch had all 18 streetlights non-functional, leaving the entire stretch without functioning streetlights. On the LMS–Secretariat Gate 2 stretch, nine of the 47 lights were not working, and another five were only partially operational.Other stretches with non-functional streetlights include Kowdiar–Vellayambalam, where six of the 40 lights were not functioning, and Vellayambalam–Museum, where four of the 20 lights were out. The Vellayambalam–Women’s College Junction stretch was the only road where all 69 streetlights were found to be functioning. This, in all probability, is because the stretch was fully redone recently.The affected stretches include several of the city’s busiest arterial roads connecting Thampanoor, East Fort, the Secretariat, Museum, Kowdiar, Vellayambalam and the domestic airport, which continue to witness heavy traffic even during late-night hours. The route-wise assessment was carried out by assistant commissioners of police (traffic) through a physical verification of streetlights maintained by KRFB before the findings were compiled and submitted to the police commissioner.In his communication, the commissioner said non-functioning streetlights pose a serious threat to commuters during night hours, increase the risk of road traffic accidents and create safety concerns for pedestrians. He requested KRFB to take immediate steps to restore all defective lights. The communication, dated July 8, enclosed the route-wise status report on the functioning of streetlights maintained by KRFB.Responding to police communication, KRFB chief executive officer Deepu S said the details would be forwarded to the Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company Ltd (TRDCL). “We will conduct a night inspection of the affected stretches along with TRDCL and take immediate remedial measures to restore the non-functioning streetlights,” he said.
