Around 700 streetlights along Container Terminal Road yet to be charged

Around 700 streetlights along the nearly 10-kilometre stretch from Cheranalloor Junction to Bolghatty Junction on the 17-km-long Container Terminal Road (NH 966 A) remain uncharged due to power supply issues.

Out of the over 1,000 streetlights installed, those between Cheranalloor Junction and Kalamassery were charged a week ago. According to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), charging the entire fleet of street lights requires around six transformers, of which only two are operational. The remaining lights have not been charged as the existing transformers are already overloaded.

Though the contractor claimed that a request had been submitted, KSEB sources said that no formal application had been received yet regarding the installation of new transformers. “Only then can we decide factors like the location of the transformers. The number of streetlights a transformer can support depends on aspects such as the wattage of the lights used,” they added.

Container Terminal Road has been without streetlights since its inception in 2015. After much back-and-forth between the local bodies through which the road passes, streetlights were finally installed under the ongoing ₹130-crore redevelopment project.

“Initially, the National Highways Authority of India approached us, asking us to foot the power bill for the streetlights, which we flatly refused. There were also suggestions that the local bodies concerned install streetlights on the stretches passing through their limits, which again were dismissed,” said V.S. Akbar, president, Mulavukad panchayat.

The absence of streetlights has been one of the major reasons for the countless accidents—including fatal ones—that Container Road has witnessed since its commissioning. It also provides cover for waste dumping and alleged anti-social activities, according to Mulavukad police sources.

Anil Plavians, general secretary of the Federation of Residents Associations Apex Council in Goshree Islands (FRAG), said that basic facilities like streetlights should have been installed before imposing toll for using the road. He added that such a basic amenity was delayed by over a decade, citing mere technicalities.