Tangra drain work leaves motorists in monsoon pain

Kolkata: Drainage work in Tangra in the middle of monsoon has turned a stretch of Matheswartala Road that meanders through Chinatown into a nightmare for both local residents and visitors to popular Chinese restaurants that dot the neighbourhood.The worst section is the 270-m stretch between Sing Cheung Sauce Factory to the Chinese Kali temple. While it is challenging to ride through the cratered, slushy stretch on even a dry day, it is absolutely treacherous when there is a downpour.“Several bikers have skidded while negotiating the stretch. While some have suffered bruises, almost all have had their clothes ruined. Even walking through the slushy stretch is difficult. The muddy water gets splashed when a car drives by. We have been enduring this trauma for nearly two months now. But there seems to be no end in sight,” said Jagannath Shaw, who has a provision store in the vicinity.Francis Liu, another Tangra resident, said that while waterlogging is not new to Tangra, the situation has worsened due to the dug-up road. “While so many people come to party and enjoy food in Tangra, no one seems to care about the condition. During the monsoon, visitors simply avoid coming here,” said Liu.Proprietors and managers of eateries along this stretch said business had taken a hit since the onset of monsoon and the worsening of the road condition. “While there are some customers in the afternoon, people are avoiding the mess in the evening when it becomes more hazardous,” said Steven Lee, owner of Lee Eating House.According to civic authorities, the drainage work is being carried out to augment the infrastructure as Tangra is undergoing a development boom. While some leather factories had converted to restaurants after the leather business shifted to Kolkata Leather Complex off Basanti Highway two decades ago, many of the closed factories are now being redeveloped into high-rises with apartments priced over Rs 1 crore.“Tangra currently has surface drains that have low capacity. But with high-rises now getting developed with 40-50 apartments that can house 160-200 people on plots that housed 4-6 persons earlier, the infrastructure has to be augmented. We have laid drainage pipelines underground. Now the road has to be restored. But since it is raining, the work is likely to be taken up once there is a dry spell,” explained a civic official.