Noida: Residents of sectors 70, 56, 122, 116, 105 and 100 have called for the urgent repair of streetlights in several neighbourhoods, which, they said, have not been functioning for months. The issue has left many of these neighbourhoods prone to accidents, burglaries and snatching. Repeated complaints to Noida Authority have not yielded a resolution, the residents said.Amit Chauhan, the residents’ welfare association (RWA) president of blocks A and B in Sector 70, said, “After we raised the issue with officials, we were promised swift action on Oct 11. But in the next 11 days, we saw no change in the condition of the streetlights.”Sushil Yadav, a resident of the same sector, said many of the streetlights in the area have not been working for over two months. “Whenever we complain about the issue, we hear that parts needed for the repair are unavailable. Authorities might fix two of the five reported malfunctioning lights, but the rest remain unaddressed for months,” he said.Last month, Noida Authority had launched an upgraded version of its streetlight mobile application, where residents could register related complaints. Launched first in 2018, the upgraded version aimed to speed up the resolution of the complaints received. Officials had said residents could also register their grievances on the toll-free number 1800102957.However, most residents said they were not aware of any application where they could register their complaints. Pawan Yadav, a resident of Century Apartments in Sector 100 and the treasurer of Federation of Noida Residents’ Welfare Association, said most residents who know of it are facing difficulty geotagging the streetlight that is not functioning.
A dark stretch in Sector 56
Many other residents said multiple calls to the helpline have not shown any results.Bhushan Sharma, RWA general secretary of PK Abadi Block in Sector 122, said instances of crimes being reported on these dark stretches have risen. “The stretch between the Parthala flyover and FNG Road has been plunged in darkness for nearly four months. It poses a risk not only for road accidents but also for criminal incidents. Several incidents of snatching and burglary have been reported from the area in the past few months,” he said.Some residents blamed junior engineers and said their lack of response is making the issue more prolonged. Suresh Sharma, general secretary from C Block, Sector 56, formally wrote to the executive engineer of the electrical department at Noida Authority on Thursday, detailing the lack of responsiveness and the subsequent safety risks posed by unlit streets, especially during recent festivities like Navratri and Dussehra. “The failure to ensure proper street lighting on such an important festival is unacceptable and reflects a serious lack of responsiveness towards the genuine concerns of residents,” he said.Yadav said if the issue is not solved soon, chances of road accidents taking place on these dark stretches will increase substantially during the winter. “The winter smog will only worsen the issue in the later months. This makes prompt action even more vital,” he said.Meanwhile, Authority officials said they have taken note of the complaints and they are being addressed. They said there have been some delays related to equipment procurement. An official said in the last eight years, the Authority has received about 3.5 lakh calls – nearly 120 calls per day – and resolved most of them. Currently, the Authority is engaged in installing low-height decorative lights in 100x sectors and aims to complete the work before Diwali.
