Daytime road repair sparks traffic chaos

KOLKATA: The road-repair drive across the city, right before ahead of the Pujas, has thrown traffic city
out of gear. This is because for the past three-four days, repairs are being carried out during the day instead of night which has been an age-old practice. Trucks laden with hot mixture (material used for patch-work of damaged portion of roads) were hence found blocking carriageways. While traffic police blamed KMC for the chaos, KMC officials said that unavailability of hot mixture at night has led to a change of schedule.
"We already have a trying time managing mammoth traffic and Puja shopping crowds. Day time road repair has added to the traffic madness. We have asked Kolkata Municipal Corporation to look for an alternative," said deputy commissioner (traffic) Dilip Bandyopadhyay. Most city roads are witnessing lingering snarls throughout the day.
Given the wretched condition of roads in large parts of the city, KMC has initiated a major 'repair' drive, though a little late. "We have no option but to work during the day to meet the September 29 deadline," said a roads department official.
KMC has its own reasons for the change. Unavailability of hot mixture at night has forced the KMC roads department to work during the day. "Hot mixture from the Goragacha plant is now being produced only during daytime. Hence, we are forced to undertake repair work during the day. We will start repairs at night once we start producing bulk material from our Palmerbazar plant which is open 24 hours," said a KMC roads department official.
Usually, the KMC roads department undertakes repairs at night to keep traffic flowing during the daytime. This is the first time that the civic body has initiated repairs during the day, leading to traffic snarls at major city roads. The problem is acute, particularly on Chittaranjan Avenue, Bowbazar Street, Amherst Street, Deshapran Sashmal Road and areas like Golf Green, Behala and Raja Subodh Mullick Road, said a KMC roads department official.
With traffic police objecting to daytime work, KMC roads department has decided to put repairs on hold in some areas. A senior
roads department official conceded that Kolkata police officers
had asked the civic body not to block major thoroughfares for repairs. "We have been asked not to block major roads during the day. We have decided to coordinate with the police," said a senior official of KMC roads department.
A senior traffic police officer said that KMC has always placed police in trouble by delaying the repair work. "Since Eid, there have been large crowds and an increased car count around markets. We always suggest that road repairs be completed before Eid so that people don't have any problem during the two major festivals. But KMC never listens to us," complained the police officer.