The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) has begun a restoration drive of nine arterial roads in Howrah. Portions of these roads are being rebuilt with concrete, while others are being resurfaced with paver blocks. The work is likely to be completed by January.

The state urban development department has sanctioned ₹64.87 crore for the restoration work, sources in the KMDA said. The roads being repaired include Benares Road (1.5km), Foreshore Road (3.3km), Kantapukur Road (1.32km), Nrisingha Dutta Road (1.5km), Tantipara Road (595m) and Debendra Ganguly Road (500m).

At Benares Road, half of the 1.5km stretch will be rebuilt in concrete, while the other half will be laid with paver blocks. On Panchanantala Road, 175m will be concretised and the remaining stretch will use paver blocks. “We have already completed repairs on some portions. Our target is to complete all work by January,” said a KMDA
official.

Howrah’s roads have been cracked, cratered and crumbling for months, with monsoon rains worsening their condition. Waterlogging routinely masked potholes, turning even daily commutes into hazardous journeys.

A resident of Panchanantala Road described the bypass from Ichhapore water tank to Howrah Maidan via Belilious Park as a “death trap”. “E-rickshaws and two-wheelers overturn almost every day. Daily commuters travel risking their lives,” said the 40-year-old.

A KMDA official said their initial plan was to install concrete top layers across all nine roads. But that changed when engineers found that full concreting would raise road levels significantly — often higher than the adjoining neighbourhoods.

“A concrete road needs a 300mm thickness, while the paver blocks we are installing are only 120mm thick. Using paver blocks prevents the road level from rising too much,” a KMDA official said.

a repaired stretch of Panchanantala Road

The Panchanantala resident said he had already felt the consequences of a road being raised too high. A stretch of Panchanantala Road was concreted last winter and now stands above the connecting lanes.

“The waterlogging in our locality was far worse this monsoon. Water from the main road flowed into the side lanes. All these lanes flooded more than ever,” he said.

The KMDA official added that paver blocks offer another advantage: they are easier to remove and reset if underground utility lines need repair. “Many of these roads have haphazardly arranged underground utilities. It is better to have paver blocks because, unlike concrete, they can be removed and reset after repairs,” the official said.

Officials noted that only patchwork repairs had been done on these roads for years. “The last thorough repair was about two decades ago,” one KMDA official said.

Beyond the nine arterial stretches, the KMDA is also spending ₹25 crore to repair 29 smaller roads.