After repeated damage, Salt Lake roads set to get Kolkata interlocking paver block treatment
Times of India | 18 August 2025
Kolkata: The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) may go the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) way in repairing damaged road stretches. The state govt is considering to use interlocking concrete blocks and mastic asphalt to repair roads in Salt Lake as bituminous mixture used for repair has been getting damaged repeatedly after heavy spells of rain.
During an event at Salt Lake on Tuesday, state urban development and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim said a plan would be developed to repair the roads in Salt Lake with mastic asphalt. "We will see which roads need to be repaired. A plan will be made to relay the roads with mastic asphalt," Hakim told TOI.
Bidhannagar MLA and state fire and emergency services minister Sujit Bose, who has been monitoring road repair works in Salt Lake, said a detailed project report would be prepared on use of interlocking blocks.
In Kolkata, KMC has recently started using interlocking concrete blocks to repair some of the battered stretches. Some months back, a small portion of the Broadway stretch near EM Bypass was relayed with these blocks. Residents of the township said the civic authorities should repair roads in such a way that they do not get damaged in a short span of time. "Using interlocking concrete blocks is good, but it needs to be seen how it can be maintained. The worrying factors are the heavy vehicles which move around the township with no restrictions," said Krishnendu Chowdhury, a resident of Salt Lake CL block. "Both mastic asphalt and interlocking concrete blocks are durable. However, concrete blocks are better if installed properly since the same can be repaired easily and can be relaid," said Tamal Pal, a resident of HB block. "The civic authorities should strictly look into the quality of the road repair materials before starting the work," said Dipanwita Bakshi, a resident of Salt Lake BL block. Experts said the civic authorities should explore and use the best option to have roads which would be both durable and vehicle-friendly at the same time.
"There is no harm in doing mastic asphalt or using interlocking concrete blocks for repairing road stretches, but often car tyres erode faster by the concrete blocks and tyres often skid on mastic asphalt roads. Use of white top concrete on bituminous mixture roads is a good option," said structural engineer Anjan Kumar Dutta, a Salt Lake resident.