Municipality awaits more funding
Garmiyan streets plunge into darkness amid staffing and budget shortages
GARMIYAN — Major roads in Garmiyan region, including those in Kalar and Rizgary districts, are shrouded in darkness due to a significant number of malfunctioning streetlights, which one local official blames on understaffing and a lack of funding to solve the issue.
Adnan Mohammed, head of the municipal unit responsible for streetlight maintenance in Kalar, told 964media, “We only have five employees in this department, which isn’t enough to maintain the large number of streetlights in our area..”
“We also don’t have any budget to cover repairs,” Mohammed added. “We’re forced to rely on our department’s already limited resources to purchase necessary equipment.”
According to Mohammed, only 8 million Iraqi dinars ($6,100) has been allocated for streetlight maintenance since April 2023, and those funds have already been exhausted. His department awaits further allocation to resume repairs and restore lighting to the streets.
The unlit streets have reportedly caused a rise in traffic accidents, particularly on the main road connecting Kalar and Rizgary.