Manesar: Sector 99A streets dark for 2 months, locals allege, flag safety risk

Residents said the lights were installed about seven months ago but developed faults soon after, while MCM floated a repair tender in April.

Streets along a 2-km stretch in Sector 99A have remained without functioning streetlights for nearly two months, with residents raising safety concerns and alleging that repeated complaints to the Municipal Corporation of Manesar (MCM) have yielded no action.

Residents said officials told them restoration could take another two months after road work ends, while MCM said no interim lighting could be arranged. (HT)

Residents said the streetlights, installed around seven months ago, developed faults soon after. The MCM had floated a tender in April for their repair, but the poles were subsequently uprooted in May and July for a road reconstruction project that has not yet started, they alleged.

“There is not a single functional streetlight on the road adjoining Pareena Lakshi, Pareena Coban and Garhi village. It is a 2-km stretch and is heavily used,” said Gopal Jha, RWA president of Pareena Coban.

Jha said residents had repeatedly complained to the MCM, but no action was taken. He added that MCM officials had told him that the lights would take around another two months to be restored after the road reconstruction work is completed.

Another resident of Parrena Lakshmi said the MCM had ordered repairs around four months ago, but no work was carried out. “The poles were then uprooted without any prior notice,” the resident said.

The road construction project was put on hold due to the monsoon and will resume after the rainy season, residents said.

Vasu Baggan, executive engineer (electrical), MCM, said the streetlight poles had been removed as part of widening work on the Garhi road passing through the area.

“The streetlights have been uprooted because of widening work on the Garhi road that passes through the area. We can reinstall the poles only after the road is reconstructed,” Baggan said.

Asked about alternative arrangements to illuminate the stretch in the interim, Baggan said no such arrangement could be made in the area.

The lack of lighting adds to a wider streetlight problem in Manesar. HT had earlier reported that several sectors, including 79, 81, 90, 91, 93, 95, 99 and 99A, had faulty or inadequate streetlights, raising safety concerns.

The latest complaint also highlights a gap in the civic response: although the MCM had floated a repair tender in April, the poles were later removed for road work, leaving residents without functional lighting and with no temporary alternative arrangement while the reconstruction remains pending.