Off the airport, a road that looks like a pond

KOLKATA: Massive potholes on a 14km stretch of Jessore Road have turned it into a death trap. Over the last few months, the section of road stretching from airport gate no. 1 via Madhyamgram to BarasatDakbunglow More has seen several accidents with the monsoon making things even worse.
At the Gate No. 3 bus stop - very close to the important intersection of airport gate no.3 and Belghoria Expressway and barely 1.5 km from the NSCBI Airport - the TOI team found a giant crater that almost resembled a small pond. Gopal Chandra Das, owner of a tea stall located close by, said this 'pothole' was at least two and a half months old.
"The potholes started forming since the middle of May. But no repair work was done. With rains, the craters widened, leading to waterlogging. The water remains in it for days and hundreds of vehicles headed for Barasat, Birati and Madhyamgram negotiate it every day," Das said, adding that he has seen several accidents and vehicles breaking down on this crater.
The stretch is perhaps at its worst at Sarat Colony and Michael Nagar in Madhyamgram. As a result, the road that is already prone to traffic snarls has become a virtual nightmare for commuters. Locals alleged that despite repeated assurances, the authorities have failed to provide any respite.
Samir Baran Saha, a former deputy manager of Indian Oil Corporation and a resident of Airport City Complex off Belghoria Expressway, very close to airport gate no. 3, said they suffer a lot due to the severe traffic jams on Jessore Road during peak hours. "The snarl also affects connecting roads, including Belghoria Expressway. Even the approach roads to our complex and other apartments in the area are totally blocked for several hours," Saha said.
Neither of the four traffic signal posts installed at the crossing of gate no 2.5 were functioning when the TOI visited the spot and the signal booth lay deserted. "These posts were installed more than a year back, but since then, we have never found the signals functioning. Neither is there any traffic policeman found at the busy crossing, barely a kilometre from the airport," said Sandip Bhattacharya, a studio owner near gate no. 2.5.
Arka Banerjee, ACP (traffic), Bidhannagar Police, was found supervising a patchwork on a part of Jessore Road near gate no 2.5 on Monday morning. It was reportedly found that the substandard materials were being used to fill the potholes. "The condition of the road is so horrible that we are trying to fill the craters somehow to make it take the traffic load. We are trying our best to reduce the jam on Jessore Road by posting senior officials at several intersections," Banerjee said.