Kolkata, Oct 14 Videos of motorcycles skidding on a newly painted rainbow-coloured stretch of a road here went viral on Wednesday, raising safety concerns and triggering a row as opposition parties and environmentalists questioned the suitability of the paints used for road surfaces.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari ordered a probe, tasking Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand with examining the incident, an official said.
The state government has painted several road surfaces in the city in bright colours ahead of the festive season.
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.
These paints will wear off in a few months, the minister said.
Within days, dashcam videos showed bikers skidding on the rainbow-coloured stretch of the Chingrighata flyover following rain. However, PTI could not ascertain the veracity of the videos that have gone viral on social media.
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.
The opposition Congress, Mamata AITC and CPI(M) raised questions about the safety implications of the beautification initiative being undertaken ahead of Durga Puja, the first major festival season since the BJP came to power in West Bengal.
“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.
In his letter, Chatterjee maintained that glossy paints should not be used indiscriminately on surfaces meant for motor vehicle traffic, as they could reduce tyre grip and increase the likelihood of skidding.
CPI(M) leader Partha Pratim Biswas also criticised the painting of flyover roads.
“This is against road safety rules and violates the principles of road construction by using shiny glossy paint particles when it endangers the lives of motorists and bikers, particularly during rain,” he added.
Environmentalist Somendra Mohan Ghosh told PTI that any move to beautify the city was welcome, but such paints should not be allowed on motorable roads.
Ghosh said he had written to both Paul and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on the matter. “I am worried; glossy oil paint on a motorable road is dangerous and should not be allowed. You can never paint the whole wheel-track area with ordinary house paint.”
“Painting can also conceal potholes, increasing the risk for commuters,” he said, adding that peeling paint could soon leave the stretches looking unattractive rather than enhancing the city’s appearance.
Roads in the country are marked using paints in accordance with the Indian Roads Congress’s IRC:35-2015, the official Code of Practice for Road Markings (Second Revision), Ghosh said.
Glossy or oil paints should be avoided because they have very low skid resistance, the environmental expert said.
“Gloss forms a smooth film. When wet with water, oil or diesel, the friction coefficient drops to a very low level. Two-wheelers and cars will skid,” he said. The friction coefficient on a road is the ratio of the frictional force resisting a vehicle’s tyre motion to the normal force pressing the tyre against the pavement.
Ghosh said road-marking materials were better substitutes for conventional oil paints because of their technical superiority, longer life and reflective properties.
Specific thermoplastic materials, rather than oil paint, are recommended for road markings on national highways and major roads, he said.
State minister Paul, meanwhile, rejected suggestions that the initiative was linked to the LGBTQ+ community or any particular social group. The rainbow flag is a widely recognised symbol of LGBTQ+ pride, diversity, and solidarity.
“These rainbow colours have not been used on Kolkata’s roads with any particular community in mind. We have undertaken this initiative to highlight the city’s heritage, harmony and the spirit of togetherness,” she said.
She said the work had not been funded with taxpayers’ money and had been carried out with support from firms using their corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds.
Environmental and social activist Naba Dutta wondered whether the purpose of painting roads in bright colours had been adequately explained and whether the initiative had sufficiently considered its impact on road users.
(PTI News)
