Kolkata: The Kolkata Traffic Police has approached the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) with a plan to change the position of street lights, especially in added areas, to ensure maximum utilisation of the road space and safety of motorists.
Most of these areas, where the relocation is now a necessity, are located in the added areas of Behala, Baghajatin, Mukundapur and Tollygunge. Cops have asked the KMC to start work on Biren Roy Road, the Buroshibtala Lane and Roy Bahadur Road in Behala.
Certain street lights were set up several years ago on these stretches—mainly the roads that connect the main DH Road and NS Bose Road in Behala and Tollygunge. “Over the years, the roads here have been expanded. However, with the street lights not being shifted to one corner, the added road space could never be used. They are a hindrance to road safety. We have had such accidents in Parnasree and Mukundapur,” stated an assistant commissioner of police (ACP).
The matter came up at the district road safety committee meetings recently. “As an example, we can cite a lamp post located on the Biren Roy Road. This lamp post is located barely 200 metres from the Behala Chowrasta metro station . A simple relocation can remove a traffic bottleneck easier,” explained the ACP. The police stated that they are also sending video evidence to civic agencies of certain bylanes. Roads in Bansdroni, for example, have been chosen as priority in this list. “We have spoken to both PWD and KMC and hope that the problem will get resolved ,” added the ACP. Meanwhile, netizens had been complaining about the potholed roads and damaged lights in the area on social media. The police have now decided to carry out a compilation of the complaints each week, after proper verification, and send them over to the concerned agencies.