Apart from patchworks in front of Central Park that played host to the recently concluded International Kolkata Book Fair, the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation has done precious little to repair the roads in the township.
All major roads in Salt Lake as well as those that cross-cross blocks of Salt Lake, continue to deteriorate and are riddled with potholes of different proportions and craters.
The situation is such that in multiple places the traffic police have been forced to place guardrails, traffic cones and even large stones to warn motorists of dangerous potholes.
On Sunday, The Telegraph drove through all three sectors of the township and all the roads, barring the stretches in front of the Central Park and the Karunamoye intersection, roads in all three sectors were peppered with potholes of varying shapes and sizes.
Most places where the asphalt layer had worn out had a layer of stone chips, sand and brickwork exposed.
The stone chips are not only risky for vehicles as they tend to skid when a driver steps on the brakes, but they act like bullets when kicked up by passing vehicles, putting pedestrians at risk.
A series of craters and potholes line the road that leads to the Salt Lake stadium from the GD Block island through Anindita bus stop.
A series of craters line the road that leads to the Salt Lake stadium from GD Block on Sunday. Gautam Bose
This is one of the arterial roads and is one of the main connectors that lead to the EM Bypass and Salt Lake stadium road crossing in front of the Hyatt.
Huge potholes have formed in front of the Bidhannagar North Police Station on the road that leads to City Centre.
This area has a cluster of government offices, including Bikash Bhavan, Subhanna Bhavan, Sech Bhavan and Purta Bhavan and witnesses a high volume of traffic every day.
The Eastern Drainage Canal Road that runs from Chingrighata to Salt Lake too is in a poor state.
“Every day the roads are getting worse. Earlier, we used to take pride in the quality of roads across Salt Lake but now it is a big problem riding bikes or driving through these stretches. Craters and potholes on every road make it extremely risky,” said Avishek Karmakar, an EE Block resident.
“The road condition in many places is so terrible that accidents can happen anytime,” he said.
Officials of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation said a Rs 125-crore road repair proposal for all its 41 wards in Salt Lake and Rajarhat had been sent to the urban development department for approval.
“We have managed to get the clearance and repairs will start soon,” an official of the civic body said.