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KOLKATA: What used to be a dreamy cruise not so long ago is now a nightmare thousands of Kolkatans are forced to endure daily. Filled with craters of every description, the EM Bypass is a veritable death-trap. Cars skid, bikes topple and buses slide almost by the hour, killing and injuring scores every month. According to an estimate, around 400 die on the Bypass annually. The two successive road accidents that left as many dead last week were yet another chilling reminder of the dangers of driving down the city's key arterial road.For someone taking it from the Patuli connector, the Bypass might seem to be perfectly laid. But only till the Ruby Hospital crossing, 3 km away. The rough ride begins here with a stretch of potholes that continues for about 100 metres on the eastern flank near Emami Tower. The TOI team was witness to a goods van almost losing control after hitting one such crater. "It's dangerous for motorists coming from the south since they have no inkling what's in store. They suddenly hit this rough patch, driving down the road in full throttle. Accidents are bound to happen," said Rakesh De, a driver who takes the road regularly.About a kilometre away at the Panchannagram crossing, the upper layer of the road has come off at several places, baring stone chips and broken asphalt that jut out dangerously. Cars tilt and bigger vehicles lurch precariously. Some of the potholes are almost 2 feet in diametre. Locals said they were even bigger till some patchwork was done recently.

If these are scary, the stretch between the Paroma Island and the Silver Spring Club is even more dangerous with craters that are potent enough to throw any speeding vehicle off track. This is the spot which has been recording most of the accidents. A 100m stretch under the Metro Railway pillars now under construction has been reduced to a series of potholes. Cars dodge them, driving dangerously close to each other. Others take on the craters, jumping and shaking vigorously across them. Last week's accidents happened within a few yards of this area, right in front of the ITC Sonar.

But perhaps the worst stretch lies between Ambedkar bridge opposite Science City and Ultadanga. Here you drive into potholes or bare stretches of the road stripped of asphalt every 50 yards. Considering that this is also the busiest section of the road used by bigger vehicles heading for the northern fringes of the city, driving is infinitely more dangerous as well.

"In the last seven or eight years, things have worsened progressively. As the road condition deteriorates, the number of accidents obviously rises. This road has become a menace," said S B Purakayastha, CEO of Ruby Hospital that receives around four Bypass accident victims every day. "On an average two die daily," he added. The Bypass now has around 250 potholes along its 22 km stretch.

Patchwork has been the bane of Bypass. Since 2003, the road has never seen a proper maintenance job. It was supposed to be taken up under the proposed Bus Rapid Transport System for which the Bypass was to be widened. It never materialized.

"The authorities need to take a ride along the potholed stretches to realize that they are playing with the lives of thousands of commuters every day. This is criminal," said Ghulam Yazdani, who helped rush an accident victim to hospital last week.

The PWD, which maintains the road, said it has been working overtime to repair the broken patches. CEO Vivek Bharadwaj claimed that around 60-70% of the road was in good shape. "Stretches like the one from Ultadanga to Chingrighata are perfect. Others like the Chingrighata crossing, the area near ITC Sonar, the stretch opposite Energy Park and a 50-metre stretch near Calcutta International School are bad. But repairs can't happen during rains. Yet, we are doing it on a war-footing whenever possible. For instance, we have concretized the Science City service road and repaired the stretch between Peerless Hospital and the Metro Cash and Carry store. If we get two consecutive sunny days, you will see the difference on the third day," Bharadwaj said.