Oman transport: Road to GuTech, Bayan College gets street lights

Muscat: After a gap of two years, the road leading to Gutech and Bayan College is once again lit up as the Muscat Municipality switched on the street lamps.
For the past two years, the street lights along the three kilometre stretch from Maabelah, Wilayat of Seeb to the colleges were not being switched on, plunging the road into darkness. The narrow road posed a danger to students and staff leaving the university late at night.
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An official of the Muscat Municipality said, “Some projects were going on in the area. Fortunately, we were able to ensure that the lights were switched on.”
While the roads have been illuminated again, another issue remains. The stretch is long but too narrow and prompts drivers to drive fast. Many of them are students.
The Deputy Rector of Admissions and Finance at GUtech, Hussein Al Salmi, said the university has sent repeated requests, urging authorities that the road be widened before the area is taken over by residential buildings. This would ensure the safety of the students.
“As you know, they are young and some, if not all, speed along this road. The stretch has witnessed several accidents, some of them during day time as well,” said Al Salmi.
“We requested the government to widen the road since residences were still to come up in the area. Once these are constructed, it will be difficult to widen the road,” he added.
A GUtech graduate, Saif Bawany, died last month in an accident on this road when the car he was travelling in was involved in a collision with a truck.
Students are happy that the street lights were again on but memories of the road plunged in darkness and their narrow escapes from death still loom.
Hooriya Al Balushi, a student of the Bayan College in the area, said, “One night, I was carpooling with a friend and we were leaving the college when we almost missed a truck that we hadn’t seen coming.”
“It was really dark and one had to be extra careful and more focused while driving,” she added.
While people were often seen walking briskly or jogging by the roadside, drivers negotiating the road in pitch darkness often did not notice them till it was too late.
“I regularly go to pick up my sibling at night because she works on her project at the university. I always see people walking by the side of the road, but I can’t see them from afar,” said a national who wished to remain anonymous. “Apart from the darkness, you have cars heading in opposite direction, sometimes with their high beams on. I often found it hard to see a thing in front of me, but I’m glad the lights have been switched on after all this time,” he added.
The Times of Oman tried to reach out to the authorities at the Bayan College but they refused to comment.