Kolkata is heading into the peak festive season with road safety again under pressure, as monsoon damage has exposed potholes and weakened surfaces across several important corridors. The immediate repair push matters beyond traffic management: for pedestrians, cyclists, two-wheeler riders and public transport users, the condition of everyday streets is increasingly becoming a measure of how resilient the city’s infrastructure really is.
Kolkata Traffic Police has recently flagged more than 200 damaged roads for urgent attention ahead of Durga Puja, when pedestrian and vehicle movement rises sharply across the metropolis. The list includes stretches affected by potholes and deteriorated surfaces, prompting civic agencies to accelerate maintenance before the seasonal surge in travel.The problem is not limited to a handful of isolated streets. Recent road-maintenance works and tenders show continuing repair requirements across areas including Canal East Road, Canal Circular Road, Dhakuria Station Road, Raja S.C. Mullick Road, Vivekananda Road and C.R. Avenue. In several cases, the work involves patch repairs rather than comprehensive reconstruction.Rain is a major trigger, but the underlying challenge is more structural. Kolkata Municipal Corporation itself acknowledges that the city depends heavily on ageing drainage infrastructure. Its drainage network includes around 180km of century-old brick sewers, while several pumping stations are decades old. Siltation, deteriorating drains, reduced wetland capacity and ageing pumping infrastructure can increase waterlogging, allowing prolonged exposure to water to further weaken road surfaces.
For commuters, the consequences extend beyond an uncomfortable journey. Uneven carriageways can slow buses and private vehicles, increase congestion and create greater risks for people travelling on two-wheelers. Damaged roads can also raise vehicle maintenance costs and contribute to additional fuel consumption when traffic becomes slower and less predictable.Urban planners and road engineers have long pointed to the limits of repeatedly filling potholes without addressing drainage, utility cuts and the underlying road structure. A durable street therefore requires coordination between road, drainage and utility agencies rather than treating each failure as an isolated maintenance job.The current repair drive is necessary, particularly before Kolkata’s busiest travel period.
But the larger test will be whether the city can move from seasonal patching towards planned asset maintenance, stronger drainage integration and road designs suited to increasingly intense rainfall.For citizens, that shift would mean safer journeys throughout the year—not simply roads made temporarily presentable before a major festival.
