Urgent repair needed for non-functional street lights-a growing safety concern

For Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), the installation of street lights has been a key development project under a tripartite agreement between the Power Development Department (PDD), Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), and the Housing & Urban Development Department. The agreement outlines a two-phase approach to ensure proper lighting across all 75 wards, with PDD providing the required infrastructure such as poles and wiring, EESL supplying the street lights of various wattages, and JMC overseeing the installation while handling payments for maintenance. While significant progress has been made-over 61,000 street lights were installed in Phase-I and more than 31,000 are already up in Phase-II-issues with non-functional street lights continue to persist. Despite the installation efforts, many areas still face problems with street lights not working as intended, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the project and the reliability of its maintenance plan. Despite being a vital part of the urban landscape, the JMC-installed street lights have failed to deliver their intended function in many parts of the city. The issue has persisted for several days, with no immediate solution in sight, causing increasing frustration among locals.