Kolkata: Traffic across Bypass was severely affected — longer detours rather than traffic jams — due to the agitation staged by fans of arch-rivals, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, at Salt Lake all through Sunday evening to protest against the R G Kar rape and murder. With vehicular movement also hit around Shyambazar 5 point crossing, several stretches of eastern suburban Kolkata like Ultadanga, Beliaghata main Road and Maniktala main road witnessed slower traffic.
“The protest being held on a Sunday helped us in managing traffic without too many challenges.But, the detours we had to offer were often longer,” said an officer from Beliaghata traffic guard.
According to Bidhannagar and Kolkata police, the entire stretch of Bypass — between Chingrighata and close to VIP Road-bypass flyover — remained suspended for about 3.5 hours. While Salt Lake-bound vehicles were diverted from Chingrighata, the buses were diverted from Science City. Some cars were also diverted via Canal South. All vehicles from VIP Road were diverted via Bagmari Road-CIT Road or the Kankurgachi Road. “I was driving from Jadavpur and cops stopped me near the Chingrighata flyover. There was some slow movement near Chingrighata flyover due to diversions. However, once I was in Salt Lake, I faced no further trouble,” said Sounak Banerjee, a law firm employee. Bus passengers, though, had a difficult time.
“I was headed towards Barasat from Medica Hospital. It took me an hour extra after my bus was diverted via Park Circus Connector and we had to cross Moulali and then reach Ultadanga from Khanna,” said an officer. At least two bus owners said they shut down services after hearing of trouble outside the Salt Lake Stadium. With protesters often trying to reach Beliaghata crossing, several auto owners withdrew services to Sealdah and Karunamoyee from the Building More area. This hit movement within Salt Lake township.