Pothole crisis: Kolkata Police sends list of battered roads to KMC for repair

Kolkata: With potholes paving the way for road accidents in the city, the Kolkata Police has sent a list of battered roads that need fixing to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the Public Works Department (PWD) to do the needful.

It was learnt that this is the first such list which has been compiled while another one will soon be prepared and sent before Durga Puja.

The prevailing monsoon is said to have further led to the worsening of road conditions in the city. Several major arterial roads feature on the list. The total number is 385.

Traffic guards are of the opinion that the potholes are leading to accidents and the most number of victims are two-wheelers. The port area is heavily affected and it is learnt the police are also informing the Kolkata Port authorities of the same. On Saturday afternoon, an accident near Hastings Police Station claimed the life of a two-wheeler driver. A motorbike, while trying to dodge a trailer, slipped due to a crater on the road and got crushed under the latter’s rear wheels. The driver, identified as Rahul Roy (28), died on the spot while the pillion rider was severely injured and was admitted to the SSKM trauma care unit.

Inputs were sought from 25 traffic guards in the city on battered roads and potholes at the beginning of this month. The information was compiled and sent to Kolkata Police Headquarters, Lalbazar which then forwarded the same to KMC and PWD for repair work. Among the list of roads, 352 belong to KMC while 32 are from PWD. Some of these roads are Syama Prasad Mookherjee Road, James Long Sarani, Diamond Harbour Road, Strand Road, M.G Road etc.

A KMC official said that the civic body is taking up repair work at Syama Prasad Mookherjee Road where there are several potholes and bumps. It will be reconstructing the upper crust of the road of that stretch after a water pipeline work. Repair work will be done from Hazra Road to Rashbehari and then from Rashbehari Crossing to Tollygunge

Rail Bridge.