Hyderabad’s streetlight maintenance stalls

1. Hyderabad Faces 30% Streetlight Failure Rate
2. Contract delays result in lack of maintenance
3. Administrative hurdles leave streets in the dark

Hema Singuluri | Hyderabad 

Hyderabad is grappling with a significant breakdown in streetlight maintenance, with GHMC officials reporting that 20% to 30% of lights are failing across the city. The crisis, characterized by faulty timers that leave lights burning during the day or failing to ignite at night, is primarily due to a transition in maintenance contracts. Although the government directed the GHMC to finalize tenders worth Rs 1,341 crore for long-term upkeep, the administrative process remains incomplete. This has resulted in a widespread maintenance gap that officials estimate will persist for at least another month.

The impact is most visible in peripheral zones, where aging infrastructure and delayed servicing cycles have left many stretches dark and unsafe. In Malkajgiri alone, officials receive up to 30 complaints daily through online and offline channels. While the Electricity Wing maintains that staff are available to address faults within 48 hours and that funding is not the issue, the lack of finalized agencies has severely limited GHMC’s operational capacity. Until the new contracts are signed, residents must rely on the MyGHMC app to report issues, though authorities admit that response times have slowed under the increased workload.