Kolkata: Four bottlenecks make cars crawl in peak hours

KOLKATA: Traffic across the city has been in a mess due to four bottlenecks — a couple of them are temporary—and a host of local civic issues, a a month before the Puja. While the Kolkata traffic police’s Facebook page are being flooded with complaints, Lalbazar sources said there is no quick solution to the problem, even as people across Kolkata got stuck in traffic snarls for several hours.
According to police, the worst bottleneck was caused by the shutting down of the Chetla Lock Gate bridge that is making the traffic in a large part of south Kolkata — including Kalighat, Chetla, New Alipore and Tollygunge — crawl during peak hours.

A large number of vehicles that were earlier diverted from AJC Bose Road to Chetla Lock Gate bridge via Kalighat, avoiding Durgapur bridge, are now using the Alipore Road and Belvedere Road. As a result, Alipore is facing huge traffic rush as these vehicles jostle to reach Durgapur Bridge on a single Lane.

The alternative Bailey bridge too has a single lane approach with vehicles moving bumper to bumper. In addition, it often remains closed to allow trains on Budge Budge line to pass. “Even if the rail gate is shut for four minutes in peak hours, the jam reaches the Taratala flyover in the morning and the Command Hospital in the evening,” said an officer from southwest traffic guard.
What is worse is that all vehicles, including buses, on the Chetla Central Road add to the traffic on Alipore Road near Sri Sri Academy. This makes the approach to the single-lane Durgapur bridge chock-a-block.
The Tollygunge Circular Road could have been a solution, but the Ganesh Puja at Mahabirtala near Tolly’s Nullah bridge has shut down traffic, making it a major bottleneck for all Behala-, New Alipore- and Mahestala-bound vehicles. “The buses from Rashbehari crossing are being forced to use the Durgapur Bridge. On both Tuesday and Wednesday, the wait at Tollygunge Phanri lasted between 30-45 minutes. Traffic at Tollygunge Metro crossing and Karunamoyee-Siriti was also affected. We are not stopping autos from plying on Bailey bridge via the Chetla Canal Road,” said an officer.
The KMDA’s decision not to allow heavy vehicles on Old Kidderpore bridge is also causing traffic snarls. “We are being forced to divert Port-bound trucks through Satya Doctor Road, which is in a shambles. Truckers are mounting pressure on us to use Alipore Road. We have written multiple times to several authorities to repair the important roads in the Port area. We’ve been told that traffic has to be shut completely to carry out this work. The Bascule bridge often has to be shut for operational reasons and the pressure on Remount Road becomes immense,” said an officer.
The Metro work that has led to the collapse of some buildings in Bowbazar is also causing jams on BB Ganguly Street and Amherst Street.
The cops also faced challenges at two other points — Ultadanga and Chingrighata. “The under-construction Bailey bridge will help us decongest the area ever since traffic has been discontinued on one flank of the Ultadanga flyover,” said a police officer.