Craters on the EM Bypass near Kalikapur (above) and at the Jadavpur police station end of Jibanananda Setu on the Prince Anwar Shah Road connector. Pictures by Amit Datta

Crumbling bitumen and the resultant craters have converted the southern end of the EM Bypass and the Prince Anwar Shah connector into an obstacle course for motorists. Metro lists the problem points on the key stretches:

Bypass blues

The bitumen on the stretch from Ajoynagar to Science City broke in places after the showers. The Ruby-bound flank near Kalikapur is the worst hit, sporting treacherous craters.

“Driving through the stretch is fraught with danger. The vehicle in front often brakes suddenly, forcing me to make a sudden turn to avoid hitting it. The danger increases during a shower,” said taxi driver Tapan Kumar Debnath, who regularly ferries customers from the airport to the far south. Crossing the stretch is harmful for “every part of a vehicle”, he added.

Drivers of ambulances that ferry patients to the several hospitals on the Bypass said patients often start bleeding from their wounds during the bumpy ride on the stretch.

Santoshpur-resident Mohan Arya, who regularly commutes by auto to the Ruby Hospital rotary, said he fears that a three-wheeler would topple on the stretch any day.

Road repairs have started on the Garia-bound flank but commuters said it would take no more than a brief spell of rain to reduce the surface to rubble. “This is not the first road repair this year and I am sure it will not be the last. I wonder what (materials) they use,” said an officer of state police while patrolling the Kalikapur stretch on his bike.

He pointed out that because the repairs were being carried out during the day, blocking two sides of a flank of the road, vehicles were forced to crawl in a single file.

Connector craters

The situation is no better for motorists who decide to avoid the Bypass and turn into the Prince Anwar Shah Road connector.

Only one flank of the artery is open to traffic even though the other has been ready for months. It is used only for parking buses and autorickshaws and dumping building construction material. Traffic naturally moves slowly on the stretch.

Craters appear on the road after the Sapuipara stop, on the way to Jadavpur police station. The condition of the road deteriorates steadily thereafter. The Jadavpur police station end of Jibananda Setu is in the worst condition.

“The craters across the breadth of the road here make it hazardous for drivers. Those who are not regulars on the road, brake suddenly on the slope of the bridge,” Suma Biswas, a homemaker from Adarshnagar, at the wheels of her Maruti 800, told Metro at the Jadavpur police station crossing.

“Accidents are a regular occurrence here. Bikers are the worst sufferers, especially when waterlogging hides the craters. A few days ago, a man was thrown off his bike and dragged by it. He was saved only because of his helmet. Before that a kid fell off the seat of a school bus and cracked his skull,” said Jhantu Mistri, who runs a bike repair shop on a pavement adjacent to the spot.

Official version: “We are looking at the problem of crumbling bitumen on the EM Bypass seriously. The crumbling happens mostly on high-speed carriageways where vehicles apply brakes. We will carry out patchworks before Puja. After that, the Bypass will be converted to mastic asphalt in phases,” said Debdas Bhattacharya, the director-general (traffic and transport) of Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority.