Kolkata Scrubs Rainbow Paint Off Flyovers After Bikers Skid

Kolkata painted a flyover in rainbow colours to look festive. Within days, workers were scrubbing the paint off again after motorcyclists skidded on the wet surface and the videos spread across phones in the city.

The paint had gone down on several road stretches ahead of the festival season, as part of Durga Puja beautification work. The sites included the Gariahat flyover in south Kolkata, the Chingrighata flyover in the east, and a stretch of Red Road. Officials described the work as a fresh coat for the city's busiest season, when streets fill with visitors and traffic runs late into the night.

On Wednesday, October 14, dashcam videos showed at least three motorcyclists skidding one after another on the rain wet painted stretch at Chingrighata. The riders slid in quick succession on the same coloured section. Police said no serious injuries were reported, a piece of luck that shaped how the story ended. Nobody died. Nobody was taken to hospital with grave injuries. But the sequence in the videos was clear, and it raised a simple question: how did a decorative coat end up on a surface where tyres need grip most?

What happened on the flyover

Rain is common in Kolkata in October, and flyovers carry fast two wheeler traffic through the city. Riders who crossed the painted stretch in the wet said the surface felt slick under braking and turning, according to coverage of the videos. The three falls caught on camera happened close together, which pointed to the surface itself rather than to one rider making one mistake.

Road experts quoted in coverage warned that glossy paint can form a smooth film over asphalt. When that film gets wet, it can cut tyre grip, especially for two wheelers with a small contact patch. Cars have more rubber on the road and more weight to hold a line. A motorcycle has two narrow tyres and a rider who must balance while slowing or changing direction. A small loss of grip that a car driver might never notice can drop a bike in seconds.

That difference explains why flyovers matter so much in this story. They are raised, they often curve, and traffic moves faster on them than on the streets below. A surface treatment that might pass as decoration on a slow road can become a hazard at flyover speed in rain.

A quick reversal and a probe

Authorities moved fast once the videos circulated. Crews scrubbed the paint off overnight, between October 14 and October 15, clearing the coloured coat from the flyover surface. Reports said crews later added grip measures including reflectors on the stretch, a step meant to help riders see the road edge and hold a safer line.

The chief minister tasked Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand with examining the incident, according to reports on October 15. The probe will need to answer who approved paint for a running traffic surface, what product was used, and whether anyone tested how it behaved in rain before riders were sent over it.

Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul said anti skid paint had been used. He said the work was paid for with corporate social responsibility funds, with no public money spent, and that the paint was not permanent. Those points will get close attention in the review. If anti skid paint was specified, investigators will want records of what arrived on site and how it was applied. If funds came from companies, the review will also need to show who chose the sites and who signed off on the finish.

Who is under scrutiny

Two bodies came under scrutiny as questions grew: the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority and the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners. Both play roles in city infrastructure and bridge work, and both will face pressure to explain their part in the project, from site selection to final clearance for traffic.

For riders, the politics matter less than the surface under their tyres. Kolkata has a large two wheeler population, and many riders cross these flyovers daily for work, school runs, and deliveries. A beautification project that puts those riders at risk, even for a short stretch, cuts against the point of festival preparation. The city dresses up for Durga Puja to welcome people. Safe roads are part of that welcome.

What happens next

The probe should set out, in plain terms, what paint can and cannot go on a traffic surface in Kolkata from now on. Cities in India and abroad do paint crossings, cycle lanes, and bus lanes in colour, but those treatments use materials tested for grip and they follow set standards for wet weather. Decoration alone is not a standard.

For now, the rainbow coat is gone from the flyovers, and the stretch at Chingrighata is back to plain asphalt with added reflectors, according to reports. Riders will judge the fix the next time rain falls on the flyover. If the surface holds, this episode will close as an embarrassing, costly lesson in how fast a cheerful idea can turn risky when it meets wet asphalt and two narrow tyres.