New Delhi: A major drive is underway to clean up the capital before Diwali, but many streets are plunging into darkness, especially in south Delhi. Residents from south, central, west and Najafgarh zones of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) have flagged delays in repairing faulty streetlights and expressed frustration over the lack of response from the civic agency.MCD officials said the responsibility of operating and maintaining streetlights was handed over to a new private agency on Sept 1. They acknowledged that teething problems were expected during the transition but assured services would stabilise by the end of Nov.Resident welfare associations (RWAs) are far from convinced. They held a joint meeting recently and decided to escalate the issue to the district magistrate and deputy commissioner.“Some residents sent over 30 reminders to get faulty streetlights repaired,” said Rakesh Dabas, president of the Federation of RWAs, Saket. “Officials have now stopped taking calls or even exited WhatsApp groups. During festivals, when dark spots should have been lit, complaints poured in from Sarvodaya Enclave, Saket, Greater Kailash, East of Kailash, Malviya Nagar, Geetanjali, Chhatarpur, Govindpuri and many other areas where nearly 30-40% of lights are reportedly not functioning,” said Dabas.A resident of East of Kailash, Karan Aggarwal, said residents were confused about whom to approach. “Until last month, the MCD website listed EESL as the contact agency. Later, we even reached out to BSES. Some roads and parks are completely dark. If MCD handed over services to a new agency, their contact details should have been updated immediately and a public advisory issued,” he said.The president of the Kailash Colony RWA, Arvind Kalia, echoed his concern. “Through a WhatsApp group, we learned that a new agency had taken charge. Many streetlights in our colony have been non-functional for more than two weeks. The agency’s reply was generic, with no details about who would fix the issue or when. Only after repeated objections did they assure us that work was being taken up. We faced the same chaos earlier during the transfer of the garbage collection contract in the central zone,” he said.An MCD official claimed that the situation was improving. “The new agency has already set up a call centre and taken over the operation and maintenance of four lakh streetlights across four zones. The agency was selected based on its track record in east Delhi, where it has been performing well. We expect all problems to be resolved in a few days,” the official said, adding that public notices with helpline numbers are being issued.The current hiccups come even as MCD last year approved a Rs 1,144.3-crore proposal to replace about four lakh LED lights on streets, in parks, and other public spaces across the four zones. The project, to be implemented in phases over three years, also includes a 10-year operation and maintenance plan. “Once all fittings are replaced, outages will be minimised and energy savings ensured,” the proposal stated.
