Criminals become bold due to faulty streetlights

Islamabad : Dysfunctional streetlights in different sectors are not only hampering free movement of residents but also creating a sense of insecurity as many incidents of street crimes have happened due to faulty streetlights.

The residents have been demanding for the timely repair of streetlights that have become obsolete.

Eventually, it forces residents to stay at homes due to darkness in streets. Badar Kiyani, a student from Sector G-7 said many complaints had been lodged with authorities concerned but issue was still lingering due to lack of maintenance and repair. People are afraid of going outside for their chores during night and it has made parents more conscious for their children due to darkness at streets, he added.

He urged the authorities concerned to resolve the issue so that people could take a sigh of relief. Another resident of Sector G-8, Kazim Ali Shah, informed several incidents of bike and mobile snatching had been witnessed recently, apparently due to faulty street lights, as criminals made their escape good after committing the crime taking advantage of darkness.

An official from Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) Lights and Maintenance departments, requesting anonymity, admitted that maintenance of lights was the priority of his department and fixation of faulty lights was being delayed due to paucity of funds. He said that there were some administrative issues between CDA and Metropolitan Corporation of Islamabad (MCI) for switching on the lights.