Misaligned Streetlight Poles on Frazer Town's Mosque Road Threaten Motorists

Newly installed streetlight poles on Mosque Road in Frazer Town have been placed out of alignment with the central road dividers, leaving several fixtures protruding into traffic lanes and raising concerns of crashes among motorists.

The stretch was among the roads white-topped last year, an initiative that previously drew criticism after large gaps and uneven surfaces in the middle of the carriageway led to accidents. The newly installed lighting fixtures have now sparked fresh safety concerns, with residents reporting that three or four poles along the corridor sit dangerously in the path of oncoming traffic.

Local residents blamed the Streetlights Department for the misalignment, noting that the dividers should have been properly matched with the pole placements. Commuters also highlighted visibility problems caused by overgrown foliage, pointing out that the Streetlights Department requires permission from the Forest Department to trim branches covering the fixtures. Instead of addressing the obstruction, contractors engaged for the work have simply angled the lights around the untrimmed branches.

Civic coordination gaps have also created electrical hazards along the stretch. Although the streetlights were designed to house concealed wiring running from underground conduits directly up through the poles, the Major Roads Department failed to install conduits beneath the road surface during the white-topping project. Consequently, workers resorted to extending existing overhead wires, wrapping them loosely around the outside of the poles from top to bottom before feeding them through openings near the base.

A local resident cautioned that while most poles sit secured between concrete median blocks, the protruding fixtures remain vulnerable to collisions. She warned that it is only a matter of time before a car or bus crashes into the exposed poles unless the concrete median blocks are shifted outward to shield them.

Addressing the complaints, Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited (B-SMILE) Chief Engineer Madesh confirmed that civic authorities would step in to correct the misalignment. He stated that he would instruct his subordinates to inspect the location promptly and resolve the hazard on the road without delay.