‘Ready’ for two years, but this Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad stretch has no lights

Even after two years of construction, the stretch of Faridabad -Noida-Ghaziabad (FNG) Expressway that passes through Noida is still waiting for streetlighs. Thousands of commuters who take the road daily said they have knocked the doors of many officials, but it had yielded no result till earlier this week when officials started installing some streetlights as emergency steps following Gaurav Chandel robbery and murder case.

In Noida, the road starts from NH-9 near Chhijarsi and goes till Sorkha village. While streetlights are working on the stretch from NH-9 to Parthala Chowk, they're not operational on a 4km stretch from Parthala Chowk to Sector 115 which is used by those travelling through Gurgaon, Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. "Some lights were installed last year, but not even 40% of them are working now. Considering the high crime rate in Noida, I don’t know why authorities are not taking any action" said Manish Kumar, a resident of Noida Extension.

The safety concerns have only grown following the murder of an executive. "There’s traffic during peak hours, but if one is even slightly late, the stretch is completely deserted. I can hardly find a soul late at night and have not seen any police patrol vehicle ever," said Dipankar Kumar, a resident of Eros Sampoornam.

Asked about lack of streetlights, Salil Yadav, senior manager, Noida Authority said, "We're repairing and installing old streetlights so that the stretch can be lit up. It'll be complete in the next two-three days," said Salil Yadav, senior manager, Noida Authority.