Project fails due to theft of batteries

Rawalpindi: Dishonesty and inability is evident from Punjab government’s failure in maintaining solar streetlights project, as within one year the expensive experiment has faded away.
According to credible sources, on the directions of the Punjab chief minister, the city district government carried out an experiment of installing solar streetlights on 5th Road last year at a heavy cost.
Surprisingly, since the inception of solar system, the lights remain non-functional which raises many questions about the experiment.
Official sources told this scribe that the solar lights were not operative because of theft of batteries.
He said that although one year has elapsed, the related authorities did not feel it necessary to find out the factors behind the non functioning solar streetlights on 5th Road.
On approaching to get views that why streetlights were not replaced by a solar system, Chief Engineer, Saeed Akhtar told this scribe that solar bulbs are not viable for installation. He said that the system is very expensive and could not be used as an alternative source to replace the other bulbs. “Moreover, solar lights are working with batteries, but their lifespan is only about two to three years. The price of batteries is huge and it is literally unaffordable to replace time and again. The system would prove very expensive and is therefore unaffordable,” he added.
Similarly, he claimed that the practice of solar system could not succeed in Pakistan because of theft cases. “If batteries are installed at several points, there is great possibility that they will be stolen. Under these circumstances, it becomes quite difficult to replace street lights into solar system.