Kolkata: For the first time, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is set to build an eco-friendly road in the city. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road near the iconic Kalighat Temple is being built using this eco-friendly method.
This road will be built by the KMC using the mechanical mastic method at a huge cost. According to KMC sources, the West Bengal Public Works Department (PWD) is using this method and raw materials.
However, this is the first time that the KMC is using such a method to build a road in the city. It is learnt that the cost of building a road of a little more than 1 kilometer stretch is about Rs 3.5 crore. The PWD uses this mechanical mastic method on the important red road or VIP road of the city. This time, this road near Kalighat Temple, near West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's house, will be as smooth and strong as the Red Road.
KMC sources revealed that in the first phase, mechanical mastic is being applied on a road a little over a kilometre long from the Rash Behari Avenue intersection to the Tollygunge railway bridge. Until now, the road department of KMC used to apply mastic by lighting a fire on the road itself. Stone chips are applied thereafter hitting them with a hammer.
Sources said that in the mechanical mastic method, there is no need to light a fire or burn it. "Everything is being prepared in a large container in a state-of-the-art vehicle. The work will be done through machines. As a result, there is no risk of pollution. This mechanical mastic is ahead in terms of quality.
The water pipeline under this road was renovated a few months ago. New pipes have been installed in some parts, and repairs have been carried out in some other parts. Due to this, the road in this section is full of potholes. Although the road was pitched, it was not made strong and smooth.
Therefore, mechanical mastic is being used on that road now. Since it is costly, this work has been approved following discussion in the meeting of the Mayor's Council," they added.
An official of the KMC said, "A part of SP Mukherjee Road will be built in this method. Since the water line has been laid by the company, the risk of digging overnight is less. Therefore, a durable, strong and smooth road is being built. Once the work is completed in the first phase, the second phase will be done from the Rash Behari Avenue intersection to the Hazra intersection. In the third phase, mechanical mastic will be done from Rabindra Sadan Metro or Exide intersection to Hazra crossing."
Environmental scientist Swati Nandi Chakraborty said, "This initiative is welcome. Kolkata is a city suffering from air pollution. It is good to use such a method there. Although it is a temporary cost, the long-term cost is low and sustainable. It should be kept in mind that deaths due to air pollution have increased. Child mortality is also on the rise. So, the work that the corporation is doing by not taking air pollution lightly and using this scientific method is very good."
