EM Bypass: The onset of the monsoon has left EM Bypass and various roads leading to it riddled with potholes of varying shapes, putting motorists at risk and slowing down traffic.

The worst-hit is a 100m-stretch in the north-bound flank of the Bypass near the Kamalgazi crossing.

Vehicles move at a snail's pace and keep swerving left and right to avoid hitting potholes. "This is a horrible stretch. It becomes difficult to tell a pothole when the road is flooded," said a resident of Rajpur, who frequently travels down the stretch on his two-wheeler. "Bikers lose their vehicles if one of the wheels gets stuck in a pothole."

Water-filled craters, as long as 8ft, ate up nearly half of the south-bound flank of the Bypass near the Dhalai bridge.

A senior engineer of the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), which maintains the Bypass, said work to strengthen the artery would be complete by August. "The entire Bypass is being paved with mastic asphalt. This is the last remaining stretch to be paved. The condition of the Bypass this monsoon is much better compared with previous years," he said.

But the road that beats the Bypass hands down is the stretch of the Park Circus-Science City connector near the China Town gate.

The top layer on the stretch has mostly worn off. The east-bound flank was under water for several days after the June 26 showers.

Days of waterlogging has exposed the soil under the paved layers at several points.

"Water is the biggest enemy of bitumen. Any road that remains waterlogged for days will be damaged," an engineer working for a private infrastructure company said.

An engineer of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation said the affected parts would be repaired "as soon as we get a dry phase". Potholes were also spotted on a part of Circus Avenue under the AJC Bose Road flyover.