Kolkata, Oct. 14 -- Videos of motorcycles skidding on a freshly painted Chingrighata flyover went viral on Wednesday, raising safety concerns and triggering a row as Opposition parties questioned the suitability of the paints used for road surfaces.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari reportedly ordered a probe, tasking Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand with examining the incident, an official said.
Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Agnimitra Paul said the Gariahat flyover in south Kolkata, the Chingrighata flyover in the east, and a stretch of the Red Road in the heart of the city have been painted in rainbow colours while "keeping safety guidelines in mind".
'Alpana', a traditional Bengali decorative art, has also been drawn near the Park Circus seven-point crossing and the Gariahat flyover to beautify the city and promote its heritage, Paul told reporters.
Within days, dashcam videos showed bikers skidding on the rainbow-coloured stretch of the Chingrighata flyover following rain. However, the videos could not be independently verified.
Paul later said: "The Chief Minister has directed us to look into the complaints over the paint. The Kolkata Police Commissioner has also been asked to examine the matter."
She, however, maintained the paint used on the roads was "anti-skid" and should not, in itself, cause motorcycles to fall.
Nevertheless, the circumstances surrounding the reported accidents were being investigated, the minister said.
In a post on X, the MAITC called the flyover a "death trap" and alleged gross negligence, demanding accountability from Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Agnimitra Paul.
"The freshly painted flyover has turned into a death trap, with bikes skidding and accidents occurring at the very first spell of rain," the Mamata AITC said in a post on X, demanding accountability from Paul.
"The people of Bengal deserve safe roads, not dangerous infrastructure," it added, attaching the
video clips.
State Congress general secretary Ashutosh Chatterjee also wrote to Paul and Kolkata Municipal Corporation Commissioner and Administrator Smita Pandey, flagging potential road safety hazards associated with painting carriageways with conventional paints.
CPI(M) leader Partha Pratim Biswas also criticised the painting of flyover roads. Meanwhile, Jadavpur University professor of construction engineering Partha Pratim Biswas cautioned that decorative paint could reduce tyre grip on wet surfaces and distract motorists.
Referring to Indian Roads Congress (IRC) guidelines on the use of colours on roads, Biswas said wet painted surfaces could increase the risk of skidding. He added that multiple colours could distract drivers, delay their reactions and increase the risk of accidents.
He suggested restricting decorative colours to roadside sections used by pedestrians or cyclists rather than applying them to vehicle-carrying surfaces on flyovers.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.