Flood water recedes, leaves craters in wake across Kol, SL

Kolkata: The recent spell of rain has affected the KMC's road repairing drive and has left some stretches in tatters, including Amherst Street, CR Avenue, Murlidhar Sen Lane, Golam Mohammad Shah Road, Golf Green, a stretch between Kalikapur and Ajoy Nagar, and other roads. In most of these roads, the civic repair drive was either ongoing or had just concluded when fresh potholes appeared in the wake of rain. An official said repairs cannot be resumed until there is a dry spell. "The rain is delaying the road repair drive. We are a little worried about another spell of rain. We are aware of the stretches that have been damaged by the rain afresh. And we have sought a fresh list of stretches that have worsened in the wake of rain."Officials said repairs on DH Road from Mominpur to Majherhat bridge may be conducted in the early hours of Monday if there was no rain. On Friday, KMC mayor Firhad Hakim asked officials to mend all roads across the city.The rain has caused similar damage to stretches in Salt Lake, many of which were fully repaired a few months ago. Large craters and potholes have emerged on the stretch connecting Tank 13 to Anindita bus stop, in front of CGO complex, and many places on the cross roads like in front of Purta Bhavan, the stretches surrounding Tank 9 and Karunamoyee.Residents are disappointed over the repeated battering of roads within a few months of being repaired and blamed poor construction material for the frequent damage. "It is the same story of roads getting damaged after a few splashes of heavy rain. The civic authorities should look into the quality of materials before work," said Dipanwita Bakshi from BL Block. "Potholes and craters have developed again on many roads that were repaired just a few months ago. This is a waste of taxpayers' money," said Krishnendu Chowdhury from CL Block.Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities said patchwork will be conducted once the rain stops.