The newly inaugurated Mawlana Bhashani Bridge has been left in complete darkness after thieves stole the electric cables connected to its lamp posts—barely a day after its grand opening. Local residents allege that miscreants dug up the ground at the Haripur point of the bridge and cut away the cables. As a result, no lights have functioned on the bridge for the past two nights. Frustrated locals blame the negligence of LGED authorities for the incident. They also recall that even on inauguration day, the bridge remained unlit, leaving thousands of visitors in difficulty. At the time, engineer Ujjal Chowdhury explained that a control machine malfunction had caused the issue, claiming it would take three to five days to fix. However, after news of Friday’s cable theft broke, attempts to reach him went unanswered.