Today’s Red Road – where fighter planes once landed!

Nanda Dulal Bhattacharya, Haqiquat News, Kolkata: Today’s Red Road is one of the widest roads in Kolkata. There is a big page of history associated with this British built road of Kolkata. During the Second World War, around 1943, Japan was advancing rapidly through South-East Asia as an enemy force of the British and threatening to bombard the then British Calcutta. The panic among the common people was so great that many well-known Bengali families left the city for the villages due to the fear of Japanese bombing. Meanwhile, the British were trying to decide their strategy. According to the eminent historian PT Nair, the air base at Barrackpore was located at a great distance from Kolkata, hampering its ability to provide emergency cover against Japanese air attack. So, the British decided to build a temporary airport at Ellenborough Ground (near Calcutta Race Course) to facilitate take-off and landing of fighter aircraft. Yes, you heard it right. The Red Road was used not only for take-off, but also as a parking bay for several fighter aircraft. According to British historical records, the Red Road was constructed in the early 1720s and was paved with shurkhi (red laterite soil). Many people believe that its name is derived from this soil. The road was built primarily so that the British could easily travel to the extended southern part of Calcutta such as Alipore, which was mainly their centre of entertainment with clubs and garden houses. And Lord Dalhousie who wanted to beautify both sides of the road and thus came up with a vast avenue of trees. The Red Road we see today was built in the mid-1800s and the tar road surface was added around the early 1900s. Fort William was converted into an official base for use by the British and the forest was cleared to give a clear 360-degree view to enable British troops to fire if required. The Red Road was not only used for airplanes, it also housed a lot of parades. As it happens on Republic Day these days. One of the grandest parades took place in 1911 during the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Calcutta. Two triumphal arches were also built to welcome him. Red Road also witnessed a grand parade during the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1921.
TAGLINE: Today’s Red Road, where once fighter planes landed and also served as parking bay for the planes.
HASTAG: # Red Road # Kolkata # historical facts # built around 1720