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CITY HALL is keeping an eye on the public lighting along roads in Luyang, Likas and Kolombong, to ensure that public are not unduly inconvenienced by the poor illumination in these parts of its rating-area.

A spokesman for the agency’s Engineering Department said its electrical contractor had been asked to make regular checks of the streetlights on Jalan Sang Kancil, Jalan Bangka-Bangka and Jalan Mangga.

He said a section of the 16milimetre aluminium PVC cable – along a 50metre length of the first road which goes up and down the hill in this part of Karamunsing – was found to have snapped in two.

“The contractor’s personnel replaced the affected overhead line,” he said. 

“They later changed four lanterns, which had blown, and dealt with an incoming cable leak to the control panel for the lights.” 

He said the severed cable looked as if it might have been damaged by strong winds which sometimes preceded the heavy rains in the State Capital.

“The overhead line could have caught on one of the trees during a downpour. 

“Our technicians also noticed that, in many places, the brightness of the lights on was being obscured behind long branches and thick growth of leaves.” 

She said these observations, as they related to Jalan Sang Kancil and Jalan Kebajikan nearby, were forwarded to the agency’s Landscaping Department (LD). 

A LD spokeswoman said a team with its Tree Unit, subsequently, dealt with the greenery along a 212.5m span of the latter stretch.

“Eight of our workers, some armed with chainsaws, pruned those branches which had encroached into the airspace of the lights along the road,” she said. 

“One of our skylifts and a tipper truck was deployed to facilitate these efforts.”

She said the Department would arrange to deal with the overgrown greenery along the Jalan Sang Kancil Hill at a later date.

When asked how often the trees there were trimmed, she said such maintenance was carried out on an ad hoc basis, as and when it was needed.

“Nevertheless, in the interest of ensuring that the streetlights remain operational and in good order, our staff have been asked to keep an eye on the condition of this greenery and to deal with any irregularities accordingly.”

Where Jalan Bangka-Bangka was concerned, the spokesman said the contractor’s workers attended to several faulty fixtures servicing the lights on a 622.9m length of the stretch.

“They replaced a timer, ballast, ignitor and five damaged 150watt lanterns.”

He said a “ballast” regulated the electrical current to the lanterns and provided sufficient voltage to start the lanterns.

An “ignitor”, on the other hand, functioned as a starter to increase the initial voltage to make the lanterns glow, according to him.

In the case of Jalan Mangga, the spokesman said its technicians reset a “63 Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB) 2p” in the control panel for the lights along the stretch.

The road extends for some 668 metres from the Jalan Lintas to the Jalan Kolombong junctions.

“The lights were rendered out of order because the MCB had tripped,” the spokesman said.

He elaborated that a MCB prevented electrical hazards by detecting and interrupting abnormal currents and short circuits.

The spokesman said the contractor conducted a day-time test along each of the affected roads to check if the lights were coming on as they should.

“He, later, returned at night to gauge if these stretches were adequately illuminated.”

The individual monitored the “trouble spots” for several days afterwards, according to him.

“None of the lights in these places broke down during either of these periods. “Nevertheless, we called on the contractor to step up the night-time surveillance in these areas for the benefit of the hundreds of drivers who use these roads daily.”