Kolkata: Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) has proposed to set up concrete roads in New Town in phases.
This will reduce the maintenance cost of the stretches which eats up a major portion of the revenue collection. The potholes and crators that have been created due to the monsoon in areas under Sector V and Nabadiganta will be repaired before the Durga Puja.
A workshop to find out methods to set up roads for longer duration was held in New Town on Thursday. Senior officials of HIDCO, New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA), Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA) attended the workshop along with engineers and experts in road construction. There are 200km roads in New Town while Sector V has another 25 kilometers road.
The experts said that while constructing concrete roads, the upper layer should be covered with a thin layer of tar. This would help the cars to move smoothly and reduce the level of environmental pollution as well.
The experts suggested that for the good health of the roads, the cracks that are more than 3 mm deep should be repaired immediately. Representatives of a start-up company said they would provide vehicles fitted with CCTV cameras which will help them to detect the cracks. The specially-designed vehicles will move around in New Town. There will a central monitoring system. Once the cracks are detected, the road repairing agencies will be informed through the monitoring system. HIDCO will ask the firm to do a pilot study and on the basis of the report, subsequent steps will be taken.
Emphasis will also be given on visual improvement. HIDCO has taken up elaborate measures to increase the green cover in the area. Tall tree nurseries have been set up and with the state Forest Department, massive plantation of saplings have been done. Saplings were given to NGOs and individual owners and cooperatives looking after housing complexes during the Forest Week.
The roadside trees are being watered daily with recycled water with the help of specially designed vehicles.