Over the past three weeks, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has addressed more than 300 sections of roads to eliminate potholes from the city’s streets in preparation for Durga Puja.

A consistent effort over the course of the year could prevent deterioration of the roads, according to engineers.

Roads of Calcutta are repaired, investing all resources ahead of every Puja. But these are only patchwork repairs done hastily that do not endure even a year, said a civil engineer. Often, they wear off within a few months.

On Friday, Calcutta’s mayor, Firhad Hakim, toured several arterial roads to check their condition. A woman asked Hakim why Calcutta’s roads were in good condition during Puja but not the rest of the year.

Officials from the KMC and independent engineers attributed the deplorable condition of Calcutta’s roads to inadequate planning, failure to tackle fundamental issues such as faulty drainage, and an emphasis on superficial repairs rather than comprehensive solutions.

Lack of planning

Over the past few years, EM Bypass had turned into an exhibition of potholes. The top layer wears off with the season’s first rains, and stone chips lie scattered on the road.

Yet only patchworks were prescribed as a solution.

The last time the 15.6km EM Bypass had a thorough repair was in 2013.

“Whenever there are potholes, we only pour hot bituminous mixture over the pothole and fill it. This way, the road turns uneven and the ride quality only deteriorates,” said an engineer of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) that was responsible for upkeep of the Bypass till 2022.

Although Metro Railway’s construction activities on EM Bypass ended by the end of 2022, barring a small stretch near the Metropolitan crossing, the KMC did not plan any thorough repair of the corridor.

“There is no dearth of funds, but the planning for thorough repairs is absent,” admitted a KMC official.

Quick-fix solutions

The KMC appears to prioritise contingent short-term strategies over a solution that will last for many years.

“The root cause of why a road develops potholes is rarely addressed. Why are there some stretches where waterlogging is common? The civic body should identify such stretches and fix the drainage rather than go on doing patchworks again and again,” said Partha Pratim Biswas, a professor of construction engineering at Jadavpur
University.

“This is draining money from the public exchequer,” said Biswas.

In a Puja co-ordination meeting on September 8, Hakim had sought a list of roads in Calcutta known for waterlogging after a spell of rain from police officers. The mayor wished to use interlocking paver blocks on all these stretches to stop the frequent damage.

Word of caution

Recently, the KMC has implemented the use of paver blocks across various sections — close to Science City on the Park Circus connector, at the entrance to the Ruby-bound side of Ambedkar Bridge, and near the ITI crossing in Gariahat — to prevent recurrent damage to the roads. Previously, all these areas would become waterlogged following a short period of rain.

Biswas said paver blocks endure more than bituminous layers on stretches known for waterlogging, but they will not serve as a magic potion.

“Should waterlogging occur, the sand bed beneath the blocks will begin to erode. Consequently, the paver blocks will become loose. Over time, navigating through these areas will become increasingly challenging. The KMC must understand the necessity of addressing the drainage issues,” he said.

What KMC says

Engineers and officials from the KMC stated that they have been unable to utilise mastic asphalt for road repairs for the past nine years, following the National Green Tribunal’s prohibition on the burning of mastic asphalt components at the roadside during repair work.

Mastic asphalt is a less-porous layer, and the possibility of water seeping into the underlying layers is less. This makes the roads durable.

“We will introduce a new way of using mastic asphalt. We will also have to make concrete roads and paver block stretches wherever possible,” said an official.

The official added that frequent digging of roads to fix glitches in underground utility lines — water supply, drainage, electricity, Internet cables — is the most important cause why roads break so fast.