Kolkata: Sidewalks at Kalighat, Lake Market and Mudiali areas to be made wheelchair-user and
pedestrian friendly by Durga Puja.
The pavements will be freed from encroachment and rectified of former damages. There are going to be slopes built at the two ends of the pavement to make it accessible to people in wheelchairs.
The initiative has been undertaken by the local councillor Manisha Bose-Shaw. The work on-ground has begun with contractors and engineers taking pictures of the damaged parts.
"This is being done under the Model 87 ward initiative which was taken by us after winning the local body elections. We have made the pavements encroachment free
and ensure proper maintenance of it henceforth," Bose-Shaw said.
The ward is located between Charu Market and New Alipore Thana area.
Broken pavements have been troubling the residents and the shopkeepers in the vicinity for a long time. They do not remember the last
time any work was done on
the maintenance of the pavement.
According to the ward office members, in the past few years no initiative had been taken to maintain the public property.
However, the local councillor after winning has sanctioned a few projects under her to beautify the area. Under this, the local workers gathered loose wires and posters, flags, amongst other things and bundled it away to avoid any sort of road accident.
The councillor said that she wants to make the pavement free for people to walk on and make it wheelchair user friendly. Various beautification processes have been going on in the area and footpaths are a part of the project.
Apart from ensuring footpath accessibility, the councillor has been working towards ensuring a clean neighbourhood. She aims at changing the face of the locality despite
the limited funds received by the ward.