Netaji’s statue at the Shyambazar five-point crossing and its surrounding areas will be beautified by the civic body and the HRBC. A Telegraph picture

The civic authorities and the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC) have embarked on a project to give a facelift to north Calcutta streets, starting with the Shyambazar five-point crossing.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s statue at the crossing will be cleaned, painted and illuminated by two lamp posts as part of the scheme. The HRBC will also install decorative railings around its base.

The statue, sculpted by Nagesh Yoglekar, was unveiled by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) in 1969. Since then, the structure and its surrounding areas have not been beautified.

“Netaji’s birthday is only two months away. The focus of our makeover will be on his statue and adjacent Bhupen Bose Avenue, RG Kar Road, APC Road, Bidhan Sarani and BT Road, up to its intersection with Canal West Road,” said municipal commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay.

Sadhan Pande, an MLA from the Maniktala area and a member of the urban development committee of the Assembly Standing Committee, appealed to the civic body to beautify roads in north Calcutta.

North Calcutta is the seat of the city’s heritage and deserves special care, Pande wrote in his letter.

Bus stands and footpaths will be done up as part of the project. The HRBC has started building a new-look smart bus shelter at the southern end of the Tallah bridge.

The civic authorities are looking for a place to construct a pay-and-use toilet.

Also on the anvil is a civic project to divide the APC Road stretch between the Shyambazar five-point crossing and Khanna into four lanes. Two of the lanes will be reserved for fast-moving vehicles. The other two lanes will be used by buses and other slow moving vehicles, said a CMC official.