Kolkata: The Kolkata Traffic Police have sent SOS letters to different agencies like KMC, PWD and KMDA for infrastructure development before the onset of the festive season. It has listed a total of over 200 road stretches (there are multiple stretches on single roads too) and points which need urgent repairs as part of its on-ground reports compiled each year before Durga Puja.Sealdah Flyover and Ambedkar Bridge have been mentioned in a separate letter to both KMC and KMDA. The police have also written to KMC to remove garbage from multiple spots to ensure smooth flow of traffic during Durga Puja and arrange for proper illumination so that pandal hoppers face no problem .Cops have said that these stretches are crucial for traffic and crowd circulation, and for the setting up of barricades and parking lots. “The traffic department has carried out its survey across the city and have finalized the list which was forwarded to joint CP (Headquarters) who in turn sent the letters to the various civic agencies,” said a senior officer at Lalbazar.The spots are divided across the city, though east Kolkata and added areas of south Kolkata have a larger share, said cops.Some of the roads mentioned here are EM Bypass, DH Road, Alipore Road, Belvedere Road and Burdwan Road. Others include stretches from Tagore Street, Narkeldanga Road, CGR Road, NSC Bose Road Biren Roy Road and Haridevpur MG Road.Small patches on SP Mukherjee Road, Deshapran Sashmal Road, Central Avenue and Strand Bank Road are also mentioned in this list. “Patchwork has begun on EM Bypass, CR Avenue and JM Avenue but the rain is washing away the top layer,” claimed an officer.This year the process has been hastened since cops want to be ready with data before the Durga Puja Coordination meet set up by chief minister Suvendu Adhikari for Sept 7. For daily commuters, the deteriorating condition of these key arteries has turned routine travel into an ordeal.Bus passenger Sourav Mukhopadhyay, who travels along Diamond Harbour Road and Biren Roy Road, said, “Driving or even taking a bus through Behala has become a nightmare over the last month. The potholes are so deep that vehicles slow down to a crawl, creating kilometre-long snarls around Mominpore. If the authorities do not finish these road repairs and clear out the garbage heaps before the Puja rush starts, reaching any major pandal in south Kolkata will be completely impossible.”These sentiments are echoed by IT professional Debolina Roy, who commutes via the Narkeldanga stretch every evening. “Every time it rains, whatever temporary patchwork the agencies lay down just washes away within hours, leaving open craters,” said Roy.
