Streetlights Being Stolen from Roadside; No Monitoring by Administration

Kakatpur (25/05) – With the state government spending crores of rupees to illuminate roads from villages to towns, the streetlighting system in Puri district’s Kakatpur block appears to have failed. According to received reports, unknown miscreants have allegedly stolen streetlights installed along the main Kakatpur-Astaranga road near Laxmi Bazaar under Kakatpur Panchayat.

Eyewitnesses say that two to three unknown individuals arrived in a four-wheeler, started dismantling the streetlights, and when questioned, claimed the lights were damaged and they were taking them for repair. However, they reportedly took only 2 out of 4 lights, raising doubts about their intentions.

This incident raises questions—if all four lights were faulty, why were only two removed? While many sensitive locations like the new bus stand, college square, Chandan Bazaar, medical square, and the market area have non-functional streetlights, over a hundred streetlights across the 16 panchayats of Kakatpur block have been lying defunct for years.

So, why were two lights suddenly removed from Laxmi Bazaar during the day? Doesn’t this raise suspicions of theft? Where did those lights go and who took them? These questions have created concern among the public.

The lack of administrative oversight and years of neglect in repairing these streetlights have allegedly allowed such thefts to go unnoticed, raising serious concerns about accountability and monitoring.