Rs 1crore eyewash as biz bypasses Bengal

The Bypass has donned a new look ahead of the Trinamul government's Bengal Global Business Summit to be held at Science City on January 7 and 8. The yet-to-be-finished Parama island-Park Circus flyover has got a coat of blue and white, the stretch under the flyover has a carpet of lush green grass and the Biswa Bangla globe is ready at the Science City crossing.

The VIP Road flyover, likely to be finished in February, has been painted in blue and white, too.

'Many distinguished guests and delegates from different forums will participate in the event and deliberate on doing business in Bengal. I heartily welcome them all,' chief minister Mamata Banerjee had posted on Facebook on Sunday.

The summit is part of the chief minister's initiative to put Bengal on the world map through its heritage, natural products and creative works. Metro takes stock of the changes.

Biswa Bangla globe

A giant globe, a replica of the symbol of Biswa Bangla, has been installed on the island at the Science City crossing. The globe will be lit after sundown and will change colours.

This is where a fibreglass installation by Shanu Lahiri was on display from 1987 till it was brought crashing down recently. The Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), custodians of the Bypass, 'inadvertently' reduced the artwork to rubble while trying to remove it to make room for the globe.

The 15ft-diameter globe, designed by Mamata Banerjee, has the Bengali letter 'Baw' imprinted on it - the logo for Biswa Bangla, the common brand for all creations of Bengal that will be marketed in major cities of the country and abroad.

The Bypass stretch from Beleghata to Dhalai Bridge in Garia has been renamed Biswa Bangla Sarani.

CMDA sources said an artist had prepared the globe with his own money.

Going green

The demarcated place for gardening under the Parama-Park Circus flyover, which till a month back had only soil dumped inside the enclosures, have suddenly turned into lush green patches. Trees have been planted along the edges.

'We were asked to improve the surroundings of the Bypass so the place looks better. The gardening work was taken up roughly a month back,' said an engineer of CMDA.

Flyovers incomplete, but painted

The trunk of the Parama-Park Circus flyover will be complete only in July, but the pillars have been painted in blue and white. The deck of the flyover could not be painted as construction material is still dumped on it. At the Science City crossing, there is still a gap between two ramps of the flyover.

A CMDA official said they may need to paint the flyover once again before July when the high road will be opened to traffic.

'It cost us over Rs 1 crore to paint the Parama-Park Circus flyover, Chingrihata flyover, culverts on the Bypass and the Bypass-Anwar Shah Road connector. The Bypass is being beautified as visitors who will take part in the summit will travel down the artery,' an official of the CMDA said.