KOLKATA: Roads in different parts of Salt Lake are in a deplorable condition while the battered stretches are turning into a nightmare for motorists after intermittent showers.
Motorists are facing problems to move on several stretches of Salt Lake, which got damaged, despite being patched up repeatedly. Locals rued that no extensive road repair work was done in the past few years, except for some temporary patchworks. Consequently, the condition of these roads worsens during monsoon every year.
“The condition of some roads is worsening to a great extent and these battered stretches are resulting in accidents or car damage. Such pathetic condition of roads is not expected in a township like Salt Lake,” said Tamal Pal, a resident of Salt Lake HB block.
For instance, one such spot on the Baisakhi Island-bound flank of the First Avenue near tank No. 5 is putting the life of motorists and bikers at risk as they have to manoeuvre large craters to prevent their vehicles from being damaged. Another such spot was found near Salt Lake Stadium on the road leading to Amul Island. The stretch in front of Purta Bhavan and Bidhannagar North police station is also left in a shambles after rains.
Reeling under the shortage of funds, the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to take up patch works on the worst stretches through the ‘Paray Samadhan’ scheme.
The budget allocation for the repair of roads under BMC stands at Rs 3 crore in the present financial year, but the civic officials said it is not adequate. “Rs 10 lakh will be utilised under ‘Paray Samadhan scheme’ while another Rs 10 lakh will be spent to patch up the mostly damaged spots,” said a civic official.
