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TOI : PUNE: Two days after a bag-snatching incident on the poorly-lit Dr Coyaji road near the Cantonment police station, the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) says it has planned steps to address the problem of inadequate street-lighting.

Two women employees of The Times of India, Pune, fell off their two-wheeler and sustained injuries on Wednesday when two youths on a motorcycle snatched one of their handbags. According to the police, the area was not properly lit at the time. PCB members say the incident is a wake-up call and that steps are required to prevent such occurrences.

“Streets in some areas are badly lit, as the street-lights are not maintained properly, said Shailendra Bidkar, an elected member of the PCB. “The issue of street-light maintenance will be taken up at the general body meeting. We will talk to experts and initiate measures.”

As a short-term measure, Bidkar stated that work pertaining to street-lights would be included in repair work for the monsoon.

“Other work in preparation for the rains, like road repair and drainage cleaning, is currently on in the Cantonment. We will see that maintenance and repair of street-lights is also undertaken to resolve the problem, at least in areas where it is extremely severe.”

As per the board’s data, there are around 3,800 street-lights in the Cantonment. “Some streets have poor lighting as the cables supplying power to the street lights need to be repaired,” said PCB member Karan Makwani. “Repairs are currently on and the problems pertaining to inadequate street-lighting should be solved once the work is over.”

He said that officials and contractors had been told to take precautions to avoid damaging cables while undertaking other work.

When contacted, the board’s chief executive officer D K Malik promised to look into the matter, adding that he could not offer details on the issue as he had been out of town….More