KOLKATA: Only eight months ago Maya Das lost her husband Aloke. But it’s anger, not grief, that is writ over her face whenever she steps out. The dug-up road that runs through the locality gnaws at her, a constant reminder of how the precious golden hour ticked by after Aloke suffered a heart attack as her frantic attempts to get an ambulance and then a cab to ferry him to the hospital proved futile. For two hours, none responded. They simply didn’t agree to negotiate the dug-up stretch. Finally, an app cab driver responded, but it was too late. At hospital, Aloke was put on ventilation. He could not be weaned out of it.
Incredibly, the road remains dug up, as though waiting for loss of more lives. The
Kolkata Municipal Corporation
(KMC) that had commissioned the construction of a drainage network in the south Kolkata locality has now blacklisted the contractor. For the 2.5 lakh people who live in the belt and use what’s left of the road, it means unending misery with no relief in sight.
The KMC had approved the Rs 180-crore drainage upgradation work under its flagship Kolkata Environment Improvement Project (KEIP) that would cover Brahmapur, Sheikhpara, Jubilee Park, Niva Park, Rania and other areas under four civic wards of 111, 112, 113 and 114. After completing necessary tender procedure, the work order was handed over to a city-based construction firm in January 2017. The project was to be completed this January. But progress was pitifully slow. And then it abruptly grounded to a halt.
Hence, the area that was supposed to get relief from waterlogging this
monsoon is confronted with a nightmare that is worse than what was the situation two years ago. For now, they have to deal with not just waterlogging but also a treacherous road. “My husband died because this road was dug up. But no one seems to care,” fumed Maya.
Ayesha Khatoon, a resident of Jubilee Park, Sheikhpara, said the very sight of dark cloud has everyone worrying. “If it rains for more than half an hour, my home gets flooded with storm water,” she said. Sagnik Mukherjee, a Class X student and a resident of Brahmapur, reflects the agony that confronts everyone daily. “The road has been lying dug up for months. Every time it rains, it becomes a deathtrap,”he said.
CPM councillor Chayan Bhattacharya said the blame game between KMC and contractor has pushed the project into uncertainty. Mayor
Sovan Chatterjee
assured that steps would be taken to ensure the project’s completion in absence of the contractor that has been black-listed for nonperformance.
Start a Conversation
Post comment