Gurugram, May 11 -- Despite official claims of regular maintenance, several high-traffic stretches in Gurugram continue to face poor illumination due to non-functional streetlights and lack of pruning, affecting visibility and commuter safety during night hours, a spot check conducted last week found. The inspection revealed that Maidawas Road, Rajesh Pilot Marg towards Ghata T-point, Gurugram-Faridabad Road and Suncity Road were among the darkest stretches, including accident-prone zones where warning signages have been installed. On Maidawas Road, nearly 20 to 30 streetlights were found non-functional along a 500-metre accident-prone stretch around 11pm on Friday. Resident Dinesh Kumar, a street vendor, said: "We haven't seen lights come up since they last went off almost a week ago. Many times, pickup vans are parked along the road, increasing the risk of hit-from-behind accidents." A similar situation was observed on Rajesh Pilot Marg towards Ghata, where a steep flyover with broken crash-prevention barriers had little to no visible illumination. At Ghata T-point, a key interchange between Gurugram and Faridabad, daily commuter Jeevananth Deepa said: "The 3km stretch from the three-way intersection towards Aya Nagar extension mostly remains dark, with no proper signage on the stretch warning of accidents." Sub-divisional engineer Rakesh Sharma of PWD said maintenance responsibility lies with municipal bodies, adding that letters issued to the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) in March urged them to approve estimates of light installations on a 4km stretch between Pali and the Crusher Zone area. Sandeep Rana, an MCF area engineer, said estimates are still under discussion, and "illumination proposals at service lanes along Sainik Colony remain stuck due to restoration charges demanded by the PWD." Other poorly lit stretches include Khandsa to Sector 34/37 Road, Subhash Chowk to Hero Honda Chowk, and Begumpur Khatola to Khandsa. Sector 69 resident Ritika said: "Several streetlights remain non-functional for weeks. Many women in the area feel unsafe commuting after dark." According to Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) estimates, around 1% of the city's 125,000 streetlights remain faulty at any given time and are required to be repaired by private contractors within three days. The district road safety committee flagged pruning needs on Old Railway Road, Artemis, Wazirabad and Sector 29. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) was tasked with improving illumination from Signature Towers to Jharsa. A senior MCG official said periodic maintenance and routine inspections are conducted, and pruning work has been ordered. Deputy commissioner of police (Traffic) Prateek Gehlot said illumination concerns are routinely communicated to civic bodies, adding: "Proper illumination will be integral to an upcoming active enforcement campaign."...