KOLKATA: Heavy-duty metal strips laid in the road to protect optic fibre cable (OFC) by a telecom firm a decade and a half ago have begun jutting out at multiple places along Ballygunge Circular Road, posing a threat to pedestrians and motorists.
One such raised metal strip had pierced the bottom of a car and impaled a young motorist to death at the Albert Road-Camac Street intersection 15 years ago.
"There needs to be constant monitoring of these under-the-surface strips if we do not want a repeat of the earlier horrors. What makes those incidents even more tragic was that they were entirely avoidable. We cannot forget those deaths so soon.-TimesView"
While micro-tunneling is now done to lay OFCs several feet below the surface, grooves a few inches deep were cut in the road surface to lay the OFC in the early 2000, which was then covered by a metal strip to prevent damage during repair of underground utilities and road restoration work.
The groove was then covered with mortar. However, wear and tear of the road surface caused by the plying of heavy vehicles as well as heavy rain have led to erosion of the concrete that has now bared the steel paths.
On Ballygunge Circular Road, where three cables were laid parallel to each other along the edge of the kerb on the east flank, the metal strips have begun jutting out at multiple spots opposite the Ballygunge Army Camp.
Located within half a kilometer of the residence of Amit Dalmiya, the 26-year-old who had just returned from Leeds in the UK after completing his MBA when he was killed in the freak accident in 2003, the sight of the steel paths have been a painful reminder of the incident.
“The steel paths that are jutting out of the road can lead to a grave injury, if not the loss of another life. We lost a brother needlessly and would not like any other family to suffer a similar casualty,” said Vishal Dalmiya, two years elder to Amit who was killed by one such steel path that had entered the car through the gap in the undercarriage near the clutch, brake and accelerator pedals and then pierced the driver’s seat before impaling Amit to death.
Ashish, Amit’s brother and seven years younger to him, had drawn the attention of a sergeant to the metal strips. But there has yet been no attempts to cover them up or remove them. “I shudder when I pass the stretch daily. I hope the authorities will take some action soon,” he said.
Ratan De, a member in the KMC board of administrators, said: “The 2003 accident is still fresh in my memory. I will ask my department officials to take steps,” said De. The Dalmiya family had filed a complaint against the contractors who were doing the job for the telecom firm. The case is still ongoing at Bankshall court.
