Several parts of the city are getting a quick makeup ahead of G20-related meetings scheduled from January 9 to 11.
Foreign delegates will be in the city to attend at least three meetings related to the G20 summit.
Paintings of Satyajit Ray behind the camera, the yellow Ambassador taxi and a woman cutting fish with a bonti “that capture the spirit of Kolkata” have been drawn on the walls of the Border Security Force’s Housing Complex that stretches from Mahisbathan till the Technopolis signal.
More paintings depicting the cultural lineage of West Bengal will adorn the guardrails of the Major Arterial Road (MAR) that connects the airport with the rest of the city and cuts across New Town.
Flexes depicting the mangroves of the Sunderbans, the steam-powered Darjeeling toy train against the backdrop of the mighty Kanchenjungha are also being set up to mask the under-construction pillars of the Airport-New Garia Metro line from the Sector V flyover till the Technopolis flyover.
A senior official of the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) that is carrying out this work said that they also intend to give a face-lift to the pavements as well as bicycle lanes before the summit begins.
“New kerb stones are being laid wherever required on the walkways and we have ordered a coat of fresh paint on all the flyovers in the township. We will also revamp our landscaping along the MAR wherever required,” said the official.
The Major Arterial Road has already received repairs over the past few weeks. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), too, has started planting shrubs on the median divider under the Parama flyover.
The greening of the barren spots would prevent dust from rising up in the air and also lend a soothing look to the stretch, said a KMC official.
The KMC is also levelling the road surface on the EM Bypass.
The bumpy portions were cut and the top surface was removed.
A new bituminous top coat was laid in a manner that the newly-laid stretch was not bumpy or elevated from the stretches surrounding it.
“Several delegates from G20 nations would arrive on January 8. They will be here till January 11. Sessions will be held at a hotel along the EM Bypass,” said a KMC official.
Senior officials of the KMC inspected a long stretch of the EM Bypass on Tuesday.
“There are some stalls at the EM Bypass and Dhapa Road crossing. These stalls have to be removed before the delegates arrive. We will seek help from the police,” said another KMC official.
