While sometimes, the water supply department reasons that it had to be done to carry out urgent repairs, on other occasions a telecom company or the electric supply company digs up the roads. Even today, the water supply department dug up a footpath near the Tipu Sultan Masjid on CR Avenue to carry out a major work under the MPLAD scheme to improve water supply in ward number 46.

Several metres of the footpath and a portion of the road, with almost new bricks visible underneath, was burrowed out to lay water supply pipelines. This, however, was planned more than four months back. The footpath meanwhile was repaired and a new concrete layer was constructed just before the Pujas. The result was a loss of a few lakhs of public money, which could have been easily saved had the two departments consulted or exchanged information about their future plans.

The work being carried out has left the footpath in a mess and if past experiences are anything to go by, the place will remain like this until the next Pujas. When asked, Mr Tuhin Bera, MMIC (roads) only tried to shrug responsibility and said, "I am on leave due to poor health and not aware of the matter." He, however, had said about two months back that these things cannot be helped as some things come up on urgent basis and need to be taken care off.

An official of the civic body's water supply department however said that the project, being carried out under the MPLAD scheme, was planned at least four months back and work started recently after funds were sanctioned. Mr Mrinal Kanti Mondal, though said that he was not aware of the work being carried out. Meanwhile senior officers kept passing the buck on other departments.