Capital’s street lights only for show

Crooked poles adorned with illegally hung panaflex advertisements and missing or dangling light bulbs are the hallmarks of the federal capital’s street lighting infrastructure.

The absence of street lights make footpaths unwalkable for pedestrians at night, is a nuisance for drivers as it leads to road accidents, and a cause for concern for the city’s residents as it aids theft and robbery.

Fakhar Abbas, a shop owner in the vibrant Sitara Market and longtime resident of the city, while talking to The Express Tribune, stated that citizens refrain from shopping at night because the visibility around the area is poor and people are afraid of navigating dark alleyways. “My female customers often complain of being harrassed by unruly youths who take advantage of the lack of street lights,” Abbas informed. He further added that motorcyclists also take advantage of the dark as instances of purse snatching were common in the area.

While not all areas in Islamabad are missing street lights, it is often those which are considered not-so-posh, are relatively cheaper to live at, boast a dense population, and people living in close quarters that struggle with the lack of street light infrastructure.

For instance the Bara Kahu area of the capital, which already has an unpaved roads problem and a bustling population. Gulfraz Satti, a resident of Bara Kahu, complained that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) was adamant about not installing street lights in rural areas of Islamabad. Satti informed that incidences of burglaries were quite high in the area because the dark aided criminals and the CDA turned a blind eye to the people’s security woes.

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Asjad Chaudhry, a resident of the Khanna Bridge area, while talking to the Express Tribune, had a similar bone to pick with the CDA, stating that the city administration knew this was an accident-prone area frequented by vehicles such as trucks but they refused to install lights. “Motor vehicle accidents are a routine occurrence for us due to the CDA’s negligence.

The only light we get on this road is from nearby shops,” he lamented. Chaudhry opined that if turning on the lights was to save on the cost of electricity then perhaps the CDA should consider installing solar panels on the poles.

“Why do they not understand that installation of street lights helps the police as much as citizens?” he questioned.

Another resident of the city, Farid Qureshi, was of the view that the lack of street lights meant that the numerous cameras installed across the city to prevent crimes were useless as the identity of the suspects cannot be ascertained.

“The cameras cannot show much in the pitch-black night, so the administration is aiding crime,” Qureshi opined.

However, the CDA’s spokesperson, Asif Raza Shah, when inquired about the drastic situation informed that whenever there is a complaint about street lights, the concerned branch fixes them immediately. “Sometimes delays are faced in the replacement of faulty street lights as complaints are not made timely,” Shah told the Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2021.