Vandals to blame for K Petagas darkness
Published on: Saturday, June 06, 2020
By: Sidney Skinner
Cable theft is to blame for the inoperative streetlights.
PUTATAN: Vandals are to blame for the lack of illumination in some parts of Kuala Petagas in Putatan.These errant parties apparently made away with the copper cables servicing the streetlights, rendering the streetlights along Jalan Kosan out of order.
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A District Council spokesman said a police report had been made about this theft.
“The missing lines for the affected lights cover an extensive area,” he said.
“A substantial cost is involved in obtaining replacements. Because of this, we will have to source for an allocation to buy new cables.
“We will only be able to do this once the Movement Control Order has been lifted.”
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He said, in instances where the cables were intact but the lights had failed, the Council’s technicians would try to have these facilities restored as soon as possible.
RINGO of Putatan said several sections of Jalan Kosan which led to Kg Contoh, where he lived, were unlit at night.
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He estimated that about 10 streetlights on the stretch had been inoperative “for months”.
“When I first noticed this problem earlier this year, I contacted the local authorities,” he said.
“Some staff came to check on the lights a week later. They informed me that their superior would be informed about the cost of the repairs.
“So far, however, the stretch is still shrouded in darkness.”
He said he had wearied of contacting the authorities on and off about the lack of illumination in front of his house at night.
Ringo claimed to have noticed that even those lights which were functioning did not seem to be operating at their maximum brightness.
“This is especially so where yellow bulbs were used,” he said.
He said these sodium lights only provided a small ring of light which was not very far-reaching.
Ringo bemoaned the patches of darkness along those sections lit by the yellow bulbs.
He said motorists, including, e-hailing drivers and food delivery motorcyclists, would find it easier to make out pedestrians or livestock crossing the road, if all the lights were operating like normal.
On top of this, he was of the opinion that unscrupulous parties might take advantage of lack of illumination to visit misdeeds on those living along the stretch.
“I hope the local authorities do not wait until our homes are broken into, or one of our family members is injured, before improving the illumination.”
Meanwhile, City Hall is in the process of trying to restore the streetlights between the junction to Jalan Kebajikan, from Jalan Kolam, and the Foh Sang traffic light intersection.
This follows a complaint from a motorist that this part of the main road had been shrouded in darkness for close to a month. A spokesman for the agency said it was aware that the streetlights there were out of order.
“A check revealed that there were irregularities with the supply to some sections of the overhead line,” he said.
“We are working together with the relevant party to have this resolved.”
The spokesman said the contractor, tasked with maintaining the lights, had been instructed to periodically keep an eye on these facilities to ensure that they didn’t breakdown again.
He advised rate-payers to provide City Hall with feedback on any problems involving the lights so that the agency could attend to this as soon as possible.
LAM of Penampang voiced her displeasure about the patches of darkness along the main road between Taman Layang- Layang and the Bornion commercial centre.
“All the lights on the divider and road shoulder are not lit at night,” she said.
“I regularly travel from the Foh Sang shops, where I work, to reach the neighbourhood as I have family staying here.”
She claimed that the lights seemed to function intermittently.
“Earlier this year, they were out of order for more than a week. The problem was reported to City Hall and shortly after this, the lights were functioning.
“A few days later they were failed again.”Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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