Kolkata: KMDA and Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC) have started painting the surface of multiple flyovers, including Gariahat and Chingrighata flyovers.Sources said the paints are meant for decoration. Police are allowing a restricted block, between 11 pm and 7 am, but they fear how it will affect traffic if the work lingers for a few more days.A KMDA official said they had planned to apply VIBGYOR colour to the surfaces. Officials said the painting has already started on Gariahat and Chingrighata flyovers.“We completed painting on half of Chingrighata flyover on Friday night. The remaining work will be done soon. It is easier to paint Chingrighata since it has only one flank and is 580m long,” said a KMDA official.Among the other flyovers and bridges to be painted are Aurobindo Setu, Dhana Dhanye Setu, Chetla bridge and two culverts near Metropolitan crossing on EM Bypass. “The instruction to paint the flyover surfaces came recently. This is primarily a decorative initiative ahead of Durga Puja. The paint may not last long as continuous movement of vehicles over them will wear away the paint,” said a KMDA official.Police sources said the work for painting Gariahat flyover started on Thursday. The flyover, with two flanks, is nearly 1 km long. “Being a busy flyover, we have asked the agency painting the flyover to block only one lane of one flank at a time during daytime on holidays. We are allowing them to block the entire flank between 11 pm and 7 am on weekdays,” said a police officer.Gariahat, with many crowd-puller Pujas in the vicinity, will be busy with traffic even at night from Chaturthi, said the police officer. “We are hoping that it does not rain and the painting is completed before Chaturthi,” said the officer.
