Civic body starts ironing out uneven surfaces of major thoroughfares in Kolkata

KOLKATA: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has begun ironing out the bumpy road surfaces on Syed Amir Ali Avenue and Gariahat Road so that motorists and two-wheeler riders experience a smoother ride. Sovabazar Street has already had such a makeover. In all, 38 roads will undergo the course correction.
The KMC roads department engineers said the drive to make the stretches smoother came after complaints poured in from motorists about the poor quality of ride on roads in the city.Motorists said that driving through some roads like Central Avenue, AJC Bose Road (between Sealdah and Beckbagan) and Uday Shankar Sarani is like riding a roller-coaster. To resolve the situation, the undulating bitumen is being evened out by slicing a portion of the blacktop.

Some of the stretches that will be repaired under the special road relaying scheme include Aurobindo Sarani, Ultadanga Main Road, Amherst Street, APC Roy Road, Rawdon Street, AJC Bose Road, Ballygunge Circular Road, Gariahat Road, Alipore Road, DPS Road, Biren Roy Road and Roy Bahadur Road among others.
“We have identified the stretches of major roads, which will come under the special road revival package. The work has started and we have been monitoring the work to ensure that the purpose of the special project is served,” said a KMC roads department senior official who has been assigned to look after the project.
According to the civic official, before taking up the project, the KMC roads department had conducted a survey on different city’s roads, which have become uneven due to unscientific laying with mastic asphalt in the past 15 years. “After conducting a survey of several major roads across the city, we have come to the conclusion that undulations of these roads have been caused due to a hurried repair of these stretches, which had been dug up for setting up an underground utility,” said a KMC roads department official.
Mayor Firhad Hakim approved this special road correction scheme as he, too, conceded riding roller coaster drive on several stretches of major thoroughfares across the city. Of late, Hakim has been receiving calls during his talk to mayor sessions from citizens who have been complaining against the deteriorating condition of city roads.
“We know that commuters have been facing much inconvenience due to the uneven surface of some major roads. We have taken up a comprehensive plan to make these roads smooth,” said Hakim. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had also asked the mayor to look into the matter and take corrective measures.