The issue of non-maintenance of street lights in the city Corporation area is back in focus again with councillors of the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) staging a day-and-night protest at the Corporation office on Monday. While the Opposition alleges that the ruling LDF is responsible for half the city getting engulfed in darkness after dusk, the ruling party maintains that the responsibility lies with the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
“If one were to drive through the city at night, one can see that most of the streetlights in the major roads as well as the byroads are not working. Whenever we try to raise the issue, the Mayor blames the State government. The Corporation cannot continue to shirk responsibility like this,” said Opposition leader Johnson Joseph.
Mayor’s stanceADVERTISEMENT
But Mayor K. Chandrika said the Corporation had sanctioned funds to the KSEB to maintain street lights. “Six months ago, we deposited around Rs.1 crore with the KSEB. The board bills us by calculating the power consumed by all the streetlights and sodium vapour lamps installed in the city, irrespective of whether they are functional. A metering system is yet to be put in place. The Corporation has done everything to get these street lights working. The rest has to be done by the KSEB,” said the Mayor.
This is not the first time that the Opposition is raising the issue of street lights. In the past one year, this is the fourth major protest by it over this issue. This time, they also raised the issue of scuttling of the housing projects as part of the Basic Services for the Urban Poor in the coastal wards.