Secunderabad: Lack of lights on Gough Road leaves commuters in the dark

SECUNDERABAD: Absence of streetlights on Gough Road especially from Harmony Chowk to the defence canteen run by the HQ Sub Area Unit are forcing commuters to drive through darkness.
The ride is even more risky as the road is damaged and dotted with large potholes.
“The road is already filled with green debris as the authorities concerned do not clear it. Lack of street lights makes it worse,” said Songita Banerjee, who regularly drives through the area on a two-wheeler.“Adding to the woes is the absence of a traffic cop at the junction,” she added.
The Gough Road is used by residents of Marredpally, Trimulgherry, Kowkoor, Balaji Nagar, and Sainikpuri to commute to Hyderabad. But with lack of streetlights, people are forced to use longer routes to travel after sunset.
Residents have filed several complaints with the authorities like LMAs, Military Engineering Services (MES) and Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB), but no action has been taken so far to repair the lights. “The road that is extensively used by civilians has no street lights, but several speed breakers sometimes these force us to think that the authorities concerned do not want us to use it for commuting,” secretary of Federation of Northeastern Colonies of Secunderabad (FNECS) and resident of Yapral, C S Chandrashekar told TOI.
“On the contrary, the roads near AOC office are well laid and there are LED streetlights along the spacious footpaths. The double standards when it comes to maintaining roads is unfair,” he added.
Women travelling on the road at night and those who do not use motor vehicles are afraid to use it as the lack of proper illumination poses a threat to their security.
Echoing her concern, Deepa Shailendra, a resident of Sainikpuri, said, “There are street lights in the area, but none of them are illuminated. This increases the risk of road accidents.”