Within a year of installing 137 streetlights on the Rangpur-Parbatipur road in Badarganj upazila of Rangpur, most of them have been stolen, increasing the risk of road accidents and jeopardizing pedestrian safety.

While a few street lights remain, locals claim they are no longer functional.

According to the Upazila Engineer's Office, last year, 137 street lights were installed on both sides of the road from Chengmari to Hasina Nagar to prevent accidents and enhance safety. The project, funded by the Upazila Management and Development Project, cost approximately Tk31 lakh.

However, just days after their installation, miscreants began stealing the solar panel lights and batteries.

During a recent visit, a correspondent from the Daily Sun observed that in many cases, only the poles of the street lights remained standing, devoid of solar lights or batteries. In some locations, poles were lying on the roadside, while others had been completely stolen.

Pedestrian Badsha Mia mentioned, “Around 45 to 50 street lights were installed from Changmari to Badarganj Bazar, most of which no longer exist. Many poles have been lying on the ground for quite some time and are becoming damaged.”

Mizanur Rahman, a three-wheeler driver from Ramnathpur union, stated, "We have to travel through dark roads at night. After the lights were installed, we didn’t have this problem. Now, we are afraid to cross the road in the dark. The lights need to be fixed soon.”

Badarganj Upazila Engineer Harunur Rashid said, "I have just recently joined and need to gather more information regarding this issue."