Ban on pigeon-feeding

Residents aware of the health hazards posed by pigeons wish others would stop feeding them. Pigeons spread diseases through their droppings and shed feathers. When dried droppings turn to dust and are inhaled, they can lodge in the lungs, enter the bloodstream, and affect the brain. It can even be fatal.

“But most people are either not aware of this or refuse to believe it,” says Samares Bandyopadhyay. The of DL Block resident points to the parking lot of CK Market, which he frequents, and where hundreds of pigeons swoop down daily to eat grains offered by visitors. “Ornithologists should be consulted to find a balanced way to gradually curb their population while safeguarding public health.”

Traffic safety

Drivers wish non-motorised vehicles obeyed traffic rules. “Cycles, rickshaws and cycle vans routinely jump red lights and drive on the wrong side,” says a non-resident Indian from Sector I, who is visiting his hometown on vacation. “They inconvenience oncoming traffic and endanger vehicles moving in the correct lane. The police tend to ignore such violations as these vehicles do not have licence plates but in the new year we hope for stricter enforcement of the law,” he said.

Smooth road near Tank 13

The foremost wish of anyone who crosses Tank 13 daily is for the road around it to be repaired. “That stretch is perpetually broken,” says Shyamadas De of the neighbouring HA Block. “So much so that those in the know avoid one flank altogether. The other flank has shops, which leads to cars being parked outside, putting further stress on the road. I myself have witnessed accidents there.”

The area sees heavy traffic as IA Market and the stadium are close by, and garbage trucks use the road to reach the vat on the. “Yet the road lies in disrepair for two years now,” says De.

Freedom from cables

“Remove hanging cables from roads and lanes,” wishes Samir Dasgupta of CF Block. Residents are wary of the web of cables hanging across our skylines and want the redundant piles removed, and existing cables shifted underground, as has been done in New Town.

There have been cases where residents tripped over cables and fell, bikers got entangled in cables, and some of these accidents proved fatal. The cables are often wound around lamp posts and trees, making them so heavy that even these structures suffer under the weight.

Lower height of footpaths

Another collective wish is for the excessive height of kerbstones along footpaths to be rationalised. In many areas of Salt Lake, pavements are so high that people even sit on them like on chairs. Pedestrians find it difficult to keep climbing up and down, especially the elderly and children. As a result, pedestrians avoid the footpaths and walk on the main road, increasing the risk of accidents and reducing road space for vehicles.

Street lighting

Another wish is for night-time safety to catch up with construction in New Town Action Area III. Long, sparsely populated roads there need better lighting and a visible police presence, and not the uneasy silence residents now live with.

Cycling lanes

Walkers and cyclists deserve more attention. Residents wish for continuous shaded footpaths and regulated crossings along corridors such as Salt Lake Bypass to Chingrighata and Sector V Ring Road, along with cycling lanes, where road width allows, especially near IT hubs.

Freedom from water-logging

Residents wish for monsoon flooding to be a thing of the past, especially in Sector V, and places like Chinar Park and Chingrihata, Ultadanga.

Parking space

Indiscriminate car parking remains one of the biggest problems in Salt Lake. Residents of the swimming pool area wish their streets were designated fee-parking zones to reduce the crowding. “In August 2025, the authorities had identified new fee-parking spots, including this zone. That would have curbed the problem, but no action was taken thereafter. Cars routinely block our gates and as a spillover effect, footpaths and even parts of the road are encroached upon by eateries and their customers, further shrinking usable space,” says Gora Roy of CF Block.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SRIJITA TALUKDAR