Citizen Connect: Faulty streetlights at Choolaimedu rile motorists and residents alike

M Vishnu, a resident of Sriramapuram in Choolaimedu, said that he uses Vanniyar Street every night to return from work. “Earlier, when the streetlights were installed, they were functioning properly. Now, the lights have started to malfunction. Driving on the dark street is very difficult, that too, while vehicles coming in the opposite direction use high beam headlights,” he added.

He also pointed out that the Street is one of the major and poorly maintained roads in the locality and lack of light makes driving very difficult.

Apart from Vanniyar Street, Puliyur Main Road and some streets of Puliyur also have faulty streetlights. “All the streetlights in those streets might share the same connection. Once the problem occurs on one street, it reflects on the streetlights in the entire area,” a resident said.

It is learnt that the Greater Chennai Corporation had replaced the old streetlights with LED lights in thearea recently.

When contacted, a Chennai Corporation official said that they would check the streetlights and fix the fault. “We have taken steps to implement online monitoring and the system will come into effect in a few weeks. After that, we will get alerts if the lights are not working, the official added. The residents have also expressed resentment as the issue has put their safety in peril.

“For the past one month we have been facing the problem. When we inform the civic officials, they fix the lights temporarily. Officials should take necessary steps to identify the issue and fix it permanently,” the resident said.

Meanwhile, the official explained that the civic body had replaced all the streetlights in the entire city with LED lights. “The LED lights are energy saving and require less maintenance. We are attending to the faulty streetlights whenever we receive complaints. We will take steps to prevent such issues.”