Kolkata: Metal plates breach road surface, 2003 victim’s kin relive horror

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.

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.