Kolkata’s streets reel under the impact of continuous monsoon showers, the city’s road repair infrastructure is straining to keep pace. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is grappling with limited output from its asphalt-producing hot-mix plants, which are crucial for repairing pothole-ridden roads across the metropolis. The situation threatens not only commuters’ convenience but also raises pressing concerns over safety and urban resilience.
Currently, both the Palmerbazar and Goragacha hot-mix units are operating below 50 percent capacity due to persistent rainfall. These units, which have a combined daily output potential of 1,600 tonnes, are struggling to deliver enough material to sustain KMC’s ongoing repair drive. With roads across the city, from arterial corridors to neighbourhood lanes, reporting serious surface damage, civic officials admit the challenge is mounting by the day. An official from KMC’s roads department confirmed that consistent rainfall has made uninterrupted production impossible. The hot-mix material, which must be laid under dry conditions, cannot be manufactured or transported efficiently amid wet weather. As a result, the city’s maintenance schedule has slipped considerably.
KMC has laid out plans to ramp up output once the city experiences at least three consecutive days of dry weather. Officials estimate that raising plant operations to above 75 percent will help them accelerate pending repair works. But the uncertainty of monsoon patterns poses a major hurdle, delaying critical maintenance that could prevent further road degradation.
A significant portion of the forthcoming asphalt production is earmarked for patchwork on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, a key urban corridor that has developed dangerous craters. Crumbling stretches between Hiland Park and SRFTI, Ruby intersection to Panchannagram, and Avishikta to Ruby crossing are top priorities, with civic engineers fearing potential accidents, particularly involving two-wheelers, due to waterlogged potholes. Beyond the EM Bypass, KMC is also drawing up an extended repair plan that includes major roads such as Chittaranjan Avenue, MG Road, BB Ganguly Street, and Asutosh Mukherjee Road. Additional focus will be placed on busy south Kolkata arteries like Gariahat Road, NSC Bose Road in Tollygunge, and Raja Subodh Mullick Road in Jadavpur.
Urban infrastructure experts warn that delayed repairs during monsoon not only increase the financial burden on civic bodies but also compromise sustainable city mobility. Recurrent damage to roads leads to repeated patchwork, consuming more asphalt, generating higher carbon emissions, and diverting funds from long-term eco-friendly road-building solutions. While the KMC waits for the skies to clear, the growing backlog of road maintenance and rising public safety concerns highlight the urgent need for climate-resilient planning. In a city increasingly vulnerable to erratic weather, investing in all-weather materials and decentralised repair systems may no longer be optional, it is becoming a necessity.
