New Town will soon get wind-resistant trees that would not buckle and fall when hit by gusty winds. These slender trees will be planted on the median divider from Biswa Bangla Gate till the base of the new flyover that is nearly complete near Balaka Abasan.
The road that leads from the Biswa Bangla Gate to the base of the flyover is a three-lane thoroughfare and has a wide median divider in the middle.
While a portion of the divider right next to the Biswa Bangla Gate has been utilised to set up a nursery where flowers are cultivated, the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) has decided to do avenue plantation on the remaining stretch of the median dividers.
According to NKDA officials, they will focus on trees that don't have very large canopies as they tend to topple over during storms and thundershowers. Such trees also block light from streetlamps and obstruct motorists’ vision.
In Salt Lake, as well as other parts of the city, the planting of trees with large canopies like krishnachura and radhachura has been problematic. During storms, these trees have a tendency to topple over or have their branches break off, leading to road blockages.
The new trees to be planted include cherry blossom, rosy trumpet, pine, casuarina, palm and coconut trees. They will be sourced from the Tall Tree Nursery jointly run by Hidco and the wasteland corporation in New Town's Action Area I, the official added.
“We want to have a blend of a variety of trees. Avenue plantation requires a scientific approach to ensure that the trees neither topple nor break, while also not obstruct motorists’ vision. Fruit-bearing trees and those with large canopies are being planted across New Town in suitable spots,” said the official.
Flyover concerns
Meanwhile the new flyover, crossing the Kestopur canal from Balaka Abasan till Panache Housing Complex near the Sector V ring road, brings with it new concerns.
The flyover that spans nearly 1.5km was inaugurated on Thursday. It is a key component of an alternative route to New Town from Salt Lake and Sector V.
Snarls are commonplace on the Major Arterial Road, which is now the main link between New Town and Salt Lake on one end and the airport on the other. The new route is expected to cut down travel time considerably.
“But the flyover will only increase traffic congestion. As it is, crossing the street from the Balaka Abasan side to the CE Block side is a challenge. The CE Block side has everything from malls to markets and residents from the other side have to cross over all the time. This will only get tougher now that high-speed traffic will zoom in via the flyover now,” says Alok Das, a resident of CE Block.
Das said his block was planning to approach the authorities about the issue. “We shall appeal to the NKDA to build a pedestrian subway under this street,” he said.
Is a pedestrian subway needed at this point?
Write to saltlake@abp.in