Nearly all important roads of Salt Lake have tree branches dumped along them that stick out like spikes on the arteries, putting both residents and commuters at risk.
This apart, coils of snipped cables dot most of the roads. Several accidents have taken place in the past because of cables lying on the roads.
The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation had carried out a tree-trimming drive recently. Workers had trimmed the trees that are part of the avenue plantation along median dividers and boulevards of the township. However, the branches were left along the roads.
In Salt Lake, like in other parts of the city, broadband cables and wires of all sorts are strung up on trees, lampposts and even railings of walkways.
With the branched being trimmed, the wires wrapped around them now lay scattered on the road or hang overhead and are capable of throwing off balance the two-wheeler riders in case one fails to spot them.
The Telegraph drove around all three sectors of Salt Lake on Wednesday. Apart from spotting branches, leaves and trees, garbage was seen dumped along the sides of several thoroughfares.
In Sector I, the road along the Kestopur Canal was lined with trimmed-out branches that stuck out on the road and motorists were seen swerving the moment they saw a branch stick out on the carriageway.
At BJ Block, the entire stretch of the BJ Park Road, which leads to the 206 bus stand, had tree branches and leaves piled up on one side, occupying half the road space.
Stretches of the First Avenue that leads to Ultadanga station from Salt Lake had tree branches and leaves dumped along it. This apart, construction waste and construction materials dumped along the road have turned driving or riding along the road a risky affair.
Pedestrians too don’t have it any better as some of the walkways that haven’t been overrun by hawkers now have coils of cables and branches piled on them. Pedestrians are forced to walk on the road.
A senior official of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation said that they had started a tree trimming drive to ensure that the trees don’t topple over in case of a storm or thundershower.
“We have started a tree trimming drive and are carrying it out in all three sectors of the township. The tree trimming teams don’t have the equipment to remove the branches that are chopped off,” said the official.
The solid management department of the civic body is charged with the removal of tree branches. They also remove garbage from empty plots and roads, the official added.
However, according to an official of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation’s solid waste management department, several of their trucks are down with mechanical faults, hence the delay in removing the trimmed branches.
“Multiple trucks are down with mechanical problems and we are in the process of repairing them. Now we are having to make trips to the Dhaba dumping ground to dispose of the waste that Salt Lake generates. This is taking a lot of time,” said the official.
The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation earlier used to dump waste at the Mollar Bheri on the fringes of the East Calcutta Wetlands, a Ramsar Site. The site used to be the waste dumping ground for the Bidhannagar civic body for over 35 years, along with NKDA and NDITA which also used to dump the waste generated in New Town and Sector V at the site.
Over 400 tonnes of waste is generated daily in areas falling under the jurisdiction of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation. Following court orders, waste dumping in Mollar Bheri was prohibited after the BMC started bio-mining work in 2020 to restore the area to its original state.
A bio-methane gas plant is likely to be set up at the site, the official added.
