The tiled walkway around the water body at Rabindra Sarobar will be repaired along with the benches, an official of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), custodian of the lake, said.
Hundreds of people run, jog, or walk on the tiled walkways around the water body every morning. A broken paver block or a depression can injure them.
The water body at Sarobar covers an area of 78 acres.
The tiled walkway surrounds the water body along almost its entire length, barring areas where clubs are located on the edge of the water body, said a KMDA official.
“There is no walkway near the clubs. Instead, there is the bituminous road in those stretches,” said the official.
A walk through the tiled walkway on Sunday afternoon (November 3) showed that the tiles have become loose in many places. In a small stretch, the blocks were completely missing. Some of the benches, too, were fully or partially damaged.
“Such natural wear and tear happens. Repairs are carried out at intervals. The benches and the walkway tiles get damaged by the spreading roots of the trees. We have to carefully repair them without affecting the growth of the roots,” said a senior KMDA official.
A botanist advised that it is preferable to keep the regions where surface roots develop clear of any tiles or paver blocks.
“If the tiles or paver blocks are placed above the roots, it will inhibit the natural growth of the surface roots,” said the botanist.
A regular visitor to the Sarobar said people jump or sprint on the walkway, and with time, the tiles loosen their grip.
Besides the tiled walkway, morning walkers and joggers also use the bituminous road in the Sarobar.
A regular visitor said that the bituminous road has also broken in portions.
“We keep repairing the bituminous road from time to time,” said the KMDA official.