MeECL gets House panel summon

Poor street lights irk citizens

SHILLONG: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned the MeECL officials on Thursday for the poor quality of street lights in the state especially in parts of the city.
While several areas in the capital city do not have streetlights, there are areas where streetlights are defective with the authorities not rectifying the problem.
“We are summoning the MeECL officials  in view  of the poor quality of street lights across the state especially in city due to the use of sub standard materials”, Chairman of PAC, Paul Lyngdoh said.
Another area of concern is the lack of mobility of linemen who are not able to repair the defects due to the lack of transportation.
Lyngdoh also pointed out that the purchase of sub standard materials resulted in the poor quality of streetlights thereby incurring losses due to the state exchequer.
“We are  taking  suo motu action by summoning the concerned  officials based on the complaints from public”, Lyngdoh added.
Meanwhile, as the problem of non-functional street lights still exists in the capital city, the State Government has now decided to find a proper solution to the problem.
Officials informed that the MeECL, Urban Affairs and Shillong Municipal Board will have joint meeting on July 27 to discuss the problem.
The Pine City, which is widely  projected as one of the most loved hill station, embraces darkness after sunset every day, thanks to non-functional street lights all across the city, much to the consternation of local residents and tourists.
The city outskirts plunge into darkness in the evening hours and anti-social elements have a gala time indulging in their nefarious activities.
Though areas like Police Bazar and IGP are well lit, other areas still remains under total darkness.