KMC’s asphalt units can’t keep up with demand for battered roads
Times of India | 7 August 2025
Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) roads department is waiting for a dry spell to maximize its production at its hot-mix plants to supply repair material to stretches lying battered and crying for urgent repair. Continuous rain has forced KMC to limit production at Palmerbazar and Goragacha hot-mix plants. However, the growing demand for hot-mix materials to conduct a special road repair drive has given a wake-up call to officials managing these two plants.
A source in the mechanical wing of the roads department on Wednesday conceded that the rain has compelled the department to keep the plants' production capacity under 50%. "Two plants put together have a capacity to produce 1,600 tonnes of hot-mix material every day. But given continuous rain, we can't operate these two plants constantly. As a result, the production gets hampered and we are unable to supply hot-mix material to take care of the battered roads uninterrupted," said a KMC official.
According to a civic official, the roads department has targeted augmenting production to above 75% once rain stops. "We are waiting to augment production and operate the plants uninterrupted once we get at least three days of dry weather. Otherwise, the condition of roads will deteriorate for want of repair," the official said.
The civic official said nearly half of the augmented hot-mix production will be utilized for patchwork repair on large stretches of E M Bypass that have developed craters. "Several stretches of E M Bypass need urgent attention as we fear accidents might occur due to potholes. Additionally, these potholes get waterlogged and can prove treacherous for bikers,'' an official said. In the first phase of the drive, KMC needs to repair a stretch between Hiland Park and SRFTI, the stretch from Ruby intersection to Panchannagram, and the one between Avishikta and Ruby crossing, an official said.
The KMC will also need to expand the repair drive to other city roads, including Chittaranjan Avenue, APC Roy Road, MG Road, BB Ganguly Street, Asutosh Mukherjee Road, Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Road, DH Road, Gariahat Road, NSC Bose Road (Tollygunge), and Raja Subodh Mullick Road (Jadavpur).