The lack of illumination on the Marine Drive promenade has left walkers and regulars, especially women and the elderly, worried for their safety. The problem arose after the BMC suddenly decided to change the lights on the stretch from sodium vapour to white LEDs.Mirror has been highlighting the ad hoc manner in which the civic body has changed the lights. On Monday, Mirror had reported about how an illumination survey exposed that the sharp focus of the LED lights have resulted in several dark spots on the road. Further, the illumination does not even reach the promenade, while the yellow light’s glow used to extend till the sea.Besides the aesthetics, the change has led to safety concerns too. Women walkers said they are afraid to step out for their pre-dawn walks due to safety concerns. Worse, resident associations said even BMC sweepers have complained to them that they take more time to clean the stretch due to visibility issues before sunrise. “It gets scary if you are alone,” said Grant Road resident Roma Singh, 30. “There are stretches that have trees on the sideways and they are the worst. The previous lights were brighter and you could walk comfortably.” Singh a resident of Grant Road is walking on the stretch for past six months.Another woman walker who requested anonymity said her husband has advised her not to go for walks before sunrise due to the recent change in the lights. “I walk near the roads just so that I can see people clearly. I stopped taking up early morning and late nights walks for safety issues.”The Porbunderwalas, a family from Mumbai Central, are pissed off that the BMC chose to tinker with the most perfect road in the city while there were so many that are crying out for illumination. “You see shadows everywhere and people are susceptible to thefts and bag-lifting,” said Vishar Porbunderwala, 58, who comes to Marine drive with his wife, daughter and granddaughter. “The area is safe, but the dark stretch should be lit for safety of walker especially women.”Anil Bhati, Honorary Secretary of Marine Drive Council of Association, said, “There are plans to install CCTV on the poles to monitor traffic and crime. In the current state nothing will be seen on the promenade and footpaths in CCTV. Couples sit on tetrapods so do drug addicts. How will one secure these dark areas? Previously the lights were enough to secure the 10 feet footpath and 4 km stretch.”The issue came up in a meeting of group leaders and municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte. SP corporator from Shivajinagar-Govandi Rais Shaikh told Mirror that corporators opposed the move of allowing ESL LED to go ahead and install the lights without following a tendering process.“We asked the commissioner why there was no competitive bidding, but were only told that it was being done on instructions of the union power minister Piyush Goyal,” said Shaikh.