Several motorbikes skidded on the freshly coloured surfaces of Kolkata’s Chingrighata and Gariahat flyovers after rain on Wednesday afternoon, raising immediate safety concerns for riders using the elevated roads. The nature of the injuries, if any, was not known when the report was published.
A video showing motorcycles and riders sprawled on the wet road surface was shared by Kunal Ghosh, the Trinamool Congress MLA from Beleghata. A Salt Lake resident quoted in the report said he had been driving with his daughter on the Chingrighata flyover when he saw motorcycles skid one after another.
The incidents followed remarks by urban development minister Agnimitra Paul to The Telegraph Online on Tuesday that the colours applied to the flyovers were not permanent. Paul said the coating could wash off after a spell of heavy rain or remain for four or five months.
The report does not specify the number of riders involved, the exact extent of the coloured sections or whether the flyovers had been closed for inspection after the skidding incidents. It also does not establish the extent of any injuries. These details remain important for assessing the immediate safety risk and the response required from the authorities.
The use of the coloured surface had already triggered a written warning from Bengal Congress general secretary Ashutosh Chatterjee. In a letter addressed to Paul, Kolkata Municipal Corporation municipal commissioner and administrator Smita Pandey, Chatterjee said the colours could be dangerous for riders and drivers because they had low skid resistance.
Chatterjee described the reported skidding as an expected consequence of using the material and criticised the decision to apply what he called oil-based colours on asphalt. “This is an impractical idea. They went ahead with it without considering the pros and cons. Oil-based colours cannot be applied on asphalt. Instead of repairing the roads, they are busy colouring. They failed to understand the basics,” he told The Telegraph Online.
The incident places attention on a basic but critical requirement of urban road works: surface treatments must remain safe under wet conditions, particularly on flyovers where riders have limited room to recover from a loss of traction. The report, however, does not include a technical assessment of the coating, test results, contractor details or an official explanation from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation about the material’s skid-resistance performance.
Paul’s statement that the colours may wash off after heavy rain also leaves open questions about the purpose, durability and maintenance responsibility of the treatment. Until the relevant agencies provide inspection findings or corrective measures, the reported incidents remain an urgent warning for riders using the affected flyovers during and after rainfall.
The next steps, including any safety inspection, removal of the coating, traffic restriction or repair, had not been announced in the supplied report.
