Waris Fayaz
Sopore, Jan 19 : Sopore town of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district – once known as the ‘Chotta London’ plunges into darkness soon after the sun sets, as the local municipality has failed to repair the defunct streetlights for years.
The locals said despite tall claims of the authorities of developing the town, it is still without streetlights. Many areas including that of the old town and colonies have either no lights or defunct lights, they said.
The people of the town while talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said they are facing immense hardships in the absence of lights. “As soon as dusk sets in, the entire area plunges into darkness,” said Mohammed Azhar, a local.
Azhar said most of the streetlights became defunct soon after installation and have not been repaired since then. “We can’t walk in darkness, especially during winter, as the road is full of potholes,” he said.
“We have been continuously requesting before the officials of the Municipal Council, Sopore to repair these streetlights but our pleas fall on deaf ears,” a resident of Krankshivan Colony, said.
Similarly, the residents of several other areas said the streetlights in their localities are lying defunct for the last many months.
The people of Sopore town have requested the Lieutenant Governor-led administration and the concerned department to repair the defunct streetlights and install in the areas where these are required.
President Municipal Council Sopore, Musarrat Kar told KNO that they have taken up the matter with higher-ups. “We have a provision for repairing the installed lights and we are working on it,” she said. Musarrat, however, added that there is currently no provision for installation of the streetlights—(KNO)
