Bypass crackdown in Kolkata: 789 booked for traffic offences

KOLKATA: It is not only Chingrighata Crossing that’s now high on the Kolkata Traffic police’s priority list. The cops are taking steps to bring down accidents on the entire stretch of the 17-km EM Bypass, from Garia to Ultadanga.
Officers from six traffic guards hit the roads on Friday afternoon to discipline motorists and bikers. Traffic offences like triple riding, lane cutting and jumping and dangerous driving and drink driving were brought to book.
At the end of the special drive that lasted for about five hours, 789 people were prosecuted. While 197 cases saw the use of breakdown vans (to remove vehicles parked illegally on the Bypass and service roads), there were 585 citations (on the road fines) and seven sticker cases.
The drive, claimed cops, had become necessary after CCTV footage showed several motorists were sticking to traffic laws only at those spots where cops were present. “We found bikers as well as bus drivers to be equally negligent about maintaining lanes. After pedestrian issues, lane-jumping is the biggest contributor of accidents on Bypass,” said an officer.
These surprise drives will continue at least till January, said a senior officer at Lalbazar, citing how the EM Bypass has over the years become a major challenge in policing before any festival due to the rising number of food and liquor options along with the scope of of quick getaways.
Police sources cite the example of a bike patrol last month that helped solve a murder case after they flagged down a taxi for checking. The accused had stuffed a body in the taxi boot. Similarly, it was another bike patrol that helped locate the body of a woman who was murdered by her neighbour — an app cab driver.
“We could solve both the cases due to the bike patrols and reached those places when the accused least expected us,” said an officer. It has been decided that greater patrolling and checks will be carried out in this area that is now often termed as the “new Park Street of the city”.
Bypass will also witness heavy cop presence at night from local police stations. “We have been keeping nakas at Parama Island, Highland Park, Mukundapur Market and Chowbaga since the pandemic. We have added Urbana approach road, 206 bus stand, Ajoynagar approach, the Dhalai bridge and another on the Kasba connector to that list,” said a senior Lalbazar officer.