Vivekananda Road flyover has to be demolished: Committee

This is an eyesore which the Trinamool Congress inherited from the erstwhile Left Front government and will have to pay a very heavy price as the cost of demolition will run into over Rs 100 crore.

A portion of the flyover collapsed on March 31, 2016 killing 27 people. The state government then formed a committee headed by former Chief Secretary

Basudeb Bandyopadhyay and three professors of IIT Kharagpur to conduct an in-depth study about the physical condition and future of the flyover.

The estimated cost of the 2.2 km flyover was Rs 164 crore in 2007. The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) had taken up the project to clear traffic congestion in areas surrounding Burrabazar and Posta.

The then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and the then Urban Development minister Ashok Bhattacharya had cleared the project and funds were made available under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM).

The time for completion of

the project was 18 months but the project has jumped deadline nine times.

The expert committee spoke to different agencies and experts who have suggested demolition of the structure as further investment on the project will not be very effective. They maintained that the design of the flyover is faulty.

It may be recalled that shortly after the construction began, there were protests from locals alleging faulty design. Because of the boundary wall of the flyover many house owners could not open windows of their flats. However, Ashok Bhattacharya did not pay any heed and went ahead with the project.

The Left Front government passed on an incomplete project to its successor pushing it into further economic stress.