Kolkata: Disruption in train services at Sealdah shifted the home-bound traffic on Friday to BT Road, leading to congestion along the arterial road that connects the city to the northern suburbs. The pain is likely to persist till Sunday.
With the vehicle count suddenly surpassing the capacity of the key corridor, BT Road witnessed traffic snarls at every crossing.“The current cycle of the signal fails to clear the pressure in one go, thus there is a pile-up at road intersections. We may need to tweak the signal cycles temporarily,” said a traffic sergeant.
Dr Soumen Das, an oncologist, who lives on a highrise on BT Road, found BT Road unusually heavy in traffic during the morning peak hours. “Whenever there is a problem, BT Road bears the brunt, as it is the principal south-north corridor. So navigating the road during the evening peak hours will be a challenge. I hope traffic police could salvage the situation deftly.”
The operator of a route 78 bus said that the buses, which normally get filled up after Shyambazar, were overcrowded on Friday from the Babughat stand itself.
Taking advantage of the situation, cabs and shuttle services have started fleecing passengers. The app-cab fare from Shyambazar to Dunlop showed a whopping Rs 600, nearly four times the normal fare. “A sudden influx of buses from outside has put extra pressure on B T Road. From Dunlop to Sodepur, the road widening work has left the road even more congested,” said Manasa Bhattacharya, a banker who travels daily from his central Kolkata office to his Sodepur home.
The queue for autos got serpentine on Friday. “From Dunlop to Sodepur, it is taking more than 35 minutes, which normally takes 12 minutes,” Bhattacharya added.
To provide relief to passengers, the transportation department plans to deploy special WBTC buses on the stretch till Sunday. Three buses will operate from Barrackpore to Dunlop, passing through Titagarh, Khardah, Panihati, and Rath Tala. Similarly, four government buses will run from Dum Dum Jail to Belgachhia Metro.