Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) started repairing the battered stretches of EM Bypass and other roads, including D L Khan Road, Belvedere Road, and Beadon Street, on Thursday night. However, heavy showers in the city on Friday afternoon opened up fresh craters on other city roads. KMC roads department officials said their teams would work again on Friday night to fill up the bigger craters.
"We have started road repair work in earnest during the night when traffic load reduces, and sections of roads can be cordoned off for the job without inconveniencing motorists. Work was carried out on EM Bypass, Gurusaday Road, Ballygunge Circular Road, and Gariahat Road, where potholes and craters were filled up," said a senior official in the KMC's roads department.
On Friday evening, preparations were underway to take up repairs of a section of the Bypass near Hiland Park that is still riddled with craters. Also on the anvil are repairs at Brabourne Road, APC Road, and some streets in central Kolkata.
"It was good that heavy rain lashed the city on Friday afternoon and not later in the evening. We hope the night will be rain-free, and we will be able to make substantial progress," said a roads department official.
KMC officials said the downpour on Friday afternoon did not affect the repairs that were already carried out. "After the rain, our team checked the spots where the repairs were conducted. At some places, the work has been going on for the past two days," the official said.
Kolkata Police earlier sent a letter to KMC, urging the civic body to repair some of the major roads before Trinamool Congress' Martyrs' Day rally on July 21, when several hundred buses and light trucks will arrive in the city. "Our work will continue on a war footing on Saturday and Sunday night. Unless there is a fresh spell of rain at night, we would complete the repair work on time," another official said.