The municipal commissioner has sought a detailed report from the civic body’s roads department on the crumbling condition of Southern Avenue, repaired just two years ago.

“The commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has asked for a detailed report on why the repairs have worn off so quickly,” said a civic official.

The Telegraph reported on Wednesday that potholes have formed across several stretches of the boulevard, with the top surface laid in 2023 already worn off.

Experts noted that even patchwork should last more than two monsoons — but in this case, they haven’t.

Fresh restoration

The KMC began repairs on the potholed stretches of Southern Avenue on Tuesday night.

Pressed for time, the civic body is filling up the craters in short overnight windows this time. Residents expressed doubts about how long these rushed repairs would last, given that even extensive ones have worn out.

“There are only three or four hours at night to do the work. We have to stop traffic on the stretch where repairs are being done. And the road has to be reopened for vehicles by early morning,” said a KMC official.

A drive through Southern Avenue on Wednesday afternoon showed that the potholes and worn-off stretches on the Golpark-bound flank had been patched. On the Tollygunge-bound side, the KMC had cut out rectangular and square portions for repair.

For the repair job, road milling machines scrape off the worn-out top layers — forming the rectangle and square shapes — before relaying the road. This is done to ensure a level surface.

Rain threat

Sources in the KMC said they are racing against time to finish work during the current dry spell — it did not rain on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We want to complete the repairs on Southern Avenue by Thursday night. Once the rains resume, we will have to halt the work again,” the KMC official said.

The Alipore Met office has forecast a wet spell in Bengal from Thursday to Monday. Calcutta is most likely to get heavy rain on Friday, it said.

Two years ago

The repairs on Southern Avenue in 2023 took over a month, according to police and residents of the area.

The time invested in the work suggested the civic body had enough time for a durable fix. But those expectations fell short.

“I am surprised that a road that was repaired over so many weeks is falling apart within two years,” said a civil engineer who lives near Lake Kalibari.

The premature damage has raised serious questions about the quality of the work carried out by the civic body.

“Even patch repairs should last beyond two monsoons. This raises questions about both technique and materials used,” said Partha Pratim Biswas, professor of construction engineering at Jadavpur University.

He ruled out waterlogging as the cause. “Drainage on Southern Avenue is far better now than it was 20 years ago. Waterlogging shouldn’t be an issue,” said Biswas.

The road, however, was waterlogged after last Saturday’s two-hour deluge from noon.