Craters on a Howrah road. A Telegraph picture

If mounting cost is a major hurdle to regular road repairs, the thoroughfares are likely to be a lot better now.

Researchers at Jadavpur University have prepared a mixture of fly ash and sand, that can be used as an effective, low-cost ingredient for repairing roads. The ash discharged by the Kolaghat thermal power plant, in Midnapore East, and the sand deposits on the Damodar banks were used for the experiment.

The invention will enable the government to abandon the existing method of repairs, which involves use of ?costly? stone chips. The new technique will be tried out in Howrah, as the university had worked on it following requests from the zilla parishad there.

?We will first use the new ingredient in Howrah, and later in Calcutta and elsewhere,? said Partha Pratim Biswas, a teacher and member of the university?s executive council.

Preliminary studies have confirmed the feasibility of the new technique. ?Both fly ash and sand are found aplenty in the state. Bitumen will be used for giving finishing touches and to ensure a comfortable ride,? said a teacher involved in the project.

The roads repaired with the new ingredient are likely to remain intact for 10 to 15 years, a researcher said.

Both Howrah town and the rural areas of the district are known for the poor state of the roads. ?A low-cost technology was urgently required for their upkeep,? said Mahanta Chattopadhyay, sabhadhipati, Howrah Zilla Parishad.

District administration officials will hold a meeting with the university authorities next week to finalise the implementation schedule.

Teacher Biswas said: ?We were instantly hooked to district administration?s proposal, as it was in tune with the research we are carrying out as part of our various outreach programmes.?

The project is considered crucial as it will not only reduce road upkeep expenditure significantly, but will open a route for productive use of fly ash, which threatens the environment around thermal power plants.