Kolkata: The New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) has initiated tenders and work orders for constructing new footpaths and upgrading the existing footpaths across multiple streets in New Town. The aim is to upgrade the pavements in the township and have free space for pedestrians to walk on.The streets that have been identified where the footpaths will be repaired, upgraded or newly set up are Street Nos. 273, 265, 267, 281, 168, 169, 275, 289, 291, 310, 308, 287 and other adjacent streets located near Biswa Bangla gate and New Town Mela ground in Action Area I. A project cost of Rs 2.3 crore has been estimated for the work.State urban development & municipal affairs minister Agnimitra Paul has been repeatedly urging citizens across the city and adjacent neighbourhoods not to encroach on footpaths and to free up footpath space.In New Town, officials said that the footpaths have been damaged in the identified stretches and on some streets there was no proper footpath space available for pedestrian movement. In some places, the footpath space has been encroached upon and occupied and has been blocked with building construction materials like sand and bricks.Earlier, to maintain pedestrian safety, NKDA came up with a directive restricting real estate developers from completely blocking pavements. As per existing rules, builders with sanctioned plans are allowed to use footpath spaces if they leave a mandatory 1.5-metre clearance gap for free pedestrian movement.
