New Delhi: Beat it home after dark in Delhi. Nearly 70 per cent of the capital's three lakh street lights, maintained by the civic corporation, do not work -- a factor people blame for the rising number of crimes after dusk in Delhi.
Three private companies (discoms) - North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL), BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power Limited - maintain the street lights in the city for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
For this effort, the MCD it pays these companies Rs 73 per month per street light, in addition to Rs 2 crore per month in energy charges for lighting up all city roads and streets.
Speaking to IANS, Jagdish Mamgain, chairman the MCD's works committee, said: "We have been getting a lot of complaints from residents about non-functioal street lights. We repeatedly inform the discoms to repair the street lights."
Ritu Das, a resident of Mongolpuri in north Delhi, said unlit streets were an important factor behind the increasing number of crimes in the area.
"The number of chain snatchings and accidents in the area have increased in the recent past since there are hardly any working street lights," Das said.
A senior police officer, on condition of anonymity, said: "Most of the crimes, including abduction and chain snatching, happen during the night and the victims are unable to identify the culprits as the street lights do not function. It is difficult for us to chase or note their (culprits') vehicle number in the dark."
Denying that the civic authorities were lax, Mamgain said street lights are repaired the moment the civic agency gets a complaint. "Every second week, the area councillor and a representative from the discom conduct an inspection," he said.
"We understand that there is a problem, a thorough check is done every month by the councillors to ensure all street lights are functioning," he added.
"If the street lights are not functioning in an area, one can give a written complaint to the electrical department," Mamgain added.
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