Kolkata rainbow roads face safety probe after reported bike falls

The West Bengal government has asked police and administrative officials to examine complaints about Kolkata’s rainbow-painted roads after viral footage purportedly showed motorcycles falling on the rain-soaked Chingrighata flyover. Authorities maintain that anti-skid paint was used and that the cause of the reported falls remains undetermined.

India Today reported on October 18 that Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had sought an examination of the complaints but questioned whether there was evidence connecting the accidents to the paint. Urban development and municipal affairs minister Agnimitra Paul, who is overseeing the pre-Durga Puja beautification drive, also defended the material while acknowledging complaints about dazzling colours.

The footage has not been independently authenticated. The reporting does not establish that painting caused the falls, making the distinction between a reported safety concern and a proven material defect central to the inquiry.

What the footage and government response describe

A Facebook video posted by Sayandeep Lahiri circulated widely on Wednesday. Apparently captured by a dashboard camera, it purportedly shows three motorcyclists falling in succession on Chingrighata flyover during wet weather.

Paul offered a narrower description: one motorcycle fell and struck another ahead of it, she said, while the reason for the initial fall was unknown. She said the police and administration had been informed and that the chief minister had directed authorities to look into the complaints.

Motorcyclists have also complained of slipping tyres and glare from the newly coloured surfaces. Speed-control measures were subsequently installed on some bridges, while paint was removed at other locations, according to the report. It did not identify all the affected stretches.

Paul said alternative arrangements would be considered if the brightness of the colours was causing difficulties for road users.

Materials and grip are the disputed issues

Environmentalist Somendra Mohan Ghosh said he had written to Paul and Adhikari about the risks of applying glossy paint to motorable roads. He argued that a smooth coating could reduce tyre grip when exposed to water, oil or diesel, particularly during braking or changes of direction.

His warning concerns the suitability of the material used. It does not establish the composition or measured skid resistance of the coating on Chingrighata flyover. Paul, by contrast, said the paints were anti-skid and that the work had followed safety guidelines.

Ghosh cited the Indian Roads Congress’s IRC:35-2015, the Code of Practice for Road Markings, as the relevant technical framework. He argued against indiscriminate use of conventional glossy or oil-based paints on carriageways and pointed to suitable road-marking compounds, including thermoplastic materials, as alternatives with technical performance advantages.

He also warned that extensive painting could obscure potholes and other defects, while peeling coatings could undermine the intended visual improvement. Environmental and social activist Naba Dutta questioned whether the project’s rationale and its effects on road users had been adequately assessed.

A festive makeover draws political scrutiny

The coloured stretches include Gariahat flyover in south Kolkata, Chingrighata flyover in the east and part of Red Road in the city centre. Alpana, the traditional Bengali decorative art, has also been used near the Park Circus seven-point crossing and Gariahat flyover.

Paul said the initiative was intended to celebrate Kolkata’s heritage and togetherness, not to represent any particular community. She said companies had financed the work through corporate social responsibility funds rather than taxpayers’ money, and that the paint would wear away within a few months. These are the minister’s statements, not independently verified findings about funding or durability.

Congress, the Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress faction and the CPI(M) criticised the project’s safety implications. State Congress general secretary Ashutosh Chatterjee wrote to Paul and Kolkata Municipal Corporation commissioner and administrator Smita Pandey about potential grip hazards. CPI(M) leader Partha Pratim Biswas alleged that using glossy paint on flyover carriageways breached road-safety principles.

Those criticisms do not establish either a regulatory violation or the cause of the reported falls. The unresolved questions are whether the coating was suitable for vehicular traffic and whether it contributed to the incidents; the government’s claim that it was anti-skid also requires technical evidence to settle the dispute.