Kodikulam: Residents of Kodikulam panchayat in Idukki district are suffering untold hardships as the streetlights in several wards have ceased functioning. Making matters worse, the panchayat authorities have been ignoring their complaints in this regard, the residents alleged.

Over 700 streetlamps were installed in various wards of the panchayat under the ‘Nilavu’ (moonlight) project of the state government two years ago. However, neither the panchayat nor the contractor lacks any data on the number of lamps which are currently working. A large number of bulbs became dead recently when the monsoon arrived.

Two types of lamps – manual and automatic – were installed under the project. But the automatic bulbs don’t work most of the time as the sensors attached to them develop snags regularly. While none of the streetlights are operational in some wards, they are switched on round-the-clock in other areas, wasting electricity at a time when the state is facing an acute power shortage. Additionally, the wastage of power leads to heavy expenses for the panchayat in electricity bills.

Residents said that when complaints are submitted to the panchayat regarding dead streetlights, the stock reply is that the repairs would be carried out immediately. However, action would follow only months later.

Similarly, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is currently replacing several overhead electric lines with insulated cables. The streetlamps in Kodikulam, which were attached to the old electric lines, stopped operating when the work to fix the insulated cables was taken up. Residents said that there have been no efforts by the authorities to connect the streetlamps to the new cables, leading to darkness in these areas at night. Local people also urged the authorities to carry out the repairs of the damaged lamps.