top of page
Search

Streetlight Failures Persist Across Vidarbha's Major Cities Since 2022

Foggy street at night in Vidarbha's Nagpur with orange and yellow streetlights casting a hazy glow. Road signs are faintly visible. Streetlight Failures Persist Across Vidarbha's Major Cities Since 2022.
Streetlight Failures Persist Across Vidarbha's Major Cities Since 2022

Cities across Vidarbha have seen a surge of complaints about streetlights failing after dark. Nagpur’s civic data shows the number of lamps rose from about 137,000 in 2017–18 to roughly 160,000 by 2023–24, even as power consumption fell by nearly half after an LED conversion.


Yet local reports and residents say many main roads are still poorly lit. A recent survey found “long stretches of streets and flyovers plunged into darkness” in Nagpur, including Wardha Road and the Manish Nagar flyover.

A report warned that this dimness “exacerbates the…number of accidents” on busy routes. One activist observed that lights seem to work for VIP visits but not for ordinary people, asking: “Why cannot the same standards of maintenance be upheld year-round?”


The lack of lighting is more than an inconvenience. Citizen groups say the darkness is dangerous and feeds crime. Janmanch president Rajeev Jagtap warned that “the absence of light creates opportunities for anti-social activities such as chain-snatching… People who commute late from work… also feel unsafe”.

Others note that drivers use high beams on dark roads, risking accidents, and pedestrians fear even stray animals at night.


Activists accuse authorities of neglect. Geologist Anand Harkare pointed out that new poles on one flyover were “rarely functional,” blaming NMC, the Public Works Department and the highways agency each for ignoring the problem. Local campaigners also say there is little accountability – “no fear of punishment for negligence” when lights stay out.


In sum, residents across the region describe a common complaint: streetlights that glimmer only when officials are watching, then fall silent on regular nights.


Streetlight woes in Vidarbha’s Cities


Nagpur’s own data and media reports confirm the chronic problem. In 2023–24, the NMC’s online portal logged 6,505 civic complaints citywide, of which 583 (around 9%) explicitly cited non-functional streetlights.


By early 2025, the total grievances had jumped to 19,217, a 195% increase over the previous year, even though NMC claims to have resolved 90% of logged issues.

In a city that powers about 160,000 lights, thousands of outages still go unresolved. Frustrated residents report that even after repeated requests, some newly installed lights remain off. Sheikh Shahnawaz, a resident, said the NMC-installed lamps on one Shanti Nagar flyover “have been non-functional for the past two weeks… Notwithstanding repeated complaints, the situation persists”.

Civic voices in Nagpur point to several systemic faults. With no elected municipal body since March 2022, decision-making has slowed: NMC itself notes grievances climbed sharply once councillors were absent. Budget and staffing also play a role.


The corporation still spends tens of crores annually powering lamps, about ₹29.5 crore for 29.5 million kWh in 2023–24, but surveyors say maintenance crews are stretched thin.


Understaffing reportedly delays routine bulb replacements and repairs. Moreover, contractors and departments often blame one another. In one example, a Nagpur engineer explained that new poles on the NH-6 highway had lights installed but could not be wired because the National Highways Authority forbade crossing the road, leaving 90 lamp posts dark. Civic watchdogs cite this longstanding case to illustrate bureaucratic hurdles.


In another instance, local activists noted that roadwork often severs streetlight cables, yet repairs drag on. As one campaigner put it, different agencies “shift responsibility onto the other” for fixing outages.

Officials, for their part, say progress is being made. NMC authorities highlight the energy-saving success of LEDs. An engineer told the press the conversion “has been a success, resulting in lower energy costs and expansion in streetlight coverage”.


The city has tendered new projects (for example, an electrical tender in mid-2025 covering roads around Shivaji Square to Yashodhara Nagar) and even launched a dedicated complaint WhatsApp line for streetlights.


But for many residents, such measures seem insufficient. As one local put it: lights turn on reliably for special events, yet “each department shifts responsibility” for routine outages. Until these administrative gaps close,


Nagpur’s darkened stretches are likely to remain a daily reminder of the city’s infrastructural challenges.

The problem is not unique to Nagpur. Amravati city, the other major urban centre in Vidarbha, has likewise publicised plans to upgrade its lamps but still reports gaps.


In 2023, the Amravati Municipal Corporation floated multiple tenders to install decorative LED poles on key roads. For example, one May 2023 notice sought lights on new poles from Irwin Hospital to Biyani Chowk and from Welcome Point to Yashodha Nagar. Another covered the Rajkamal flyover on Amravati’s rail line. These bids suggest the city is trying to boost coverage with modern fixtures.


But on the ground, several residents say outages persist on minor streets and new schemes proceed slowly.

Other large towns in eastern Maharashtra report similar woes: Chandrapur, Wardha, and Akola have ageing networks and limited technical staff, so streetlights often go unrepaired for weeks. In the rural fringes of the region, unlit village roads are a regular complaint. In short, local reports indicate that across Vidarbha’s big towns, budgetary limits and coordination lapses have hindered consistently reliable street lighting.


Causes and public response

Causes of Streetlight Failures in Nagpur.
Causes and public response

Civic analysts point to a mix of factors behind the recurrent outages. Power supply issues crop up sporadically, transformers on city fringes are overloaded, and voltage fluctuations can blow lamps.


More often, however, the lapses stem from maintenance and management shortfalls. The retirement freeze on municipal staff has thinned the electric department’s ranks, slowing repair of failed lamps or poles damaged during utility works.


Contractors responsible for LED replacements have also underperformed at times, as audits have shown in recent years. Funding constraints play a role.

After the LED conversion, NMC’s yearly power bill fell from ₹36 crore to ₹29 crore, but the city still needs to budget for tens of crores in energy costs even without ramping up coverage further.


Meanwhile, approval delays have frustrated improvements. An oft-cited example is Nagpur’s NH-6, where National Highway rules initially blocked cable-laying despite new lamp posts, leaving a major route dark.


The lack of an elected municipal body in Nagpur since 2022 has compounded these issues. Without councillors to raise funds or oversee contracts, the civic administration has mostly relied on bureaucratic channels and government grants, often a slower process.

In Amravati, too, the municipal corporation finances compete with other priorities in state planning. Bureaucratic inertia is evident.

During the 2023 G20 summit in Nagpur, lights were switched on reliably along inauguration routes, while “the same standards” were not maintained for ordinary residents on routine nights.

This perception of neglect fuels public anger. Activist Jagtap has demanded that streetlights be fixed within 48 hours of any failure, saying the delays (and lack of accountability) are unacceptable in a modern city.


Others call for clear redress channels. One campaigner suggested posting a contact number on each pole so citizens can report faults promptly.

For now, the outcome is that thousands of urban residents in Vidarbha spend nights under dim or no lighting.


The outages have become a routine civic grievance, registering in social media posts and in municipal complaint data alike.


The situation has lit a fuse of public frustration. Dark streets are blamed for accidents and crimes, and repeated fixes that fail only deepen mistrust.


Nagpur’s municipal officials say they are aware of the issue and that surveys show 90% of reported lights are eventually fixed.


But with every rainy night driving users to fumble in the dark, citizens across Vidarbha expect more concerted action, if only to make the city lights burn as reliably as its officials claim they ought to.

 

References



תגובות

דירוג של 0 מתוך 5 כוכבים
אין עדיין דירוגים
הוספת דירוג

About the Author

The NewsDirt is a trusted source for authentic, ground-level journalism, highlighting the daily struggles, public issues, history, and local stories from Vidarbha’s cities, towns, and villages. Committed to amplifying voices often ignored by mainstream media, we bring you reliable, factual, and impactful reporting from Vidarbha’s grassroots.

bottom of page