Fri deadline to remove puja pedestrian channels
Times of India | 17 October 2024TOI drove around the city on Wednesday to find the temporary pedestrian channels set up before Durga Puja continuing to block a sizeable section of thoroughfares outside major pandals like Santosh Mitra Square, Jagat Mukherjee Park, Kumartuli Park, Badamtala Ashar Sangha, 66 Pally, Chetla Agrani and Behala Nutan Dal, among others.
“The puja festivities are over and offices have reopened. But there is no respite for motorists like us as the roads are still encroached upon by temporary barricades. They are creating snarls and slowing down traffic,” said Aritra Saha, who was stuck in traffic on Sadananda Road next to 66 Pally and Badamtala Ashar Sangha. Both sides of the one-way Sadananda Road still have the barricades.
On BB Ganguly Street, near Santosh Mitra Square, several cars were also illegally parked inside such temporary channels. “We are just waiting for Lakshmi Puja to get over and will start removing the barricades from Thursday morning. We realise the problem some people are facing and will clear the roads very soon,” said Sajal Ghosh, a senior member of Santosh Mitra Square puja committee.
Prabhat Tiwari of Mohammad Ali Park and Sandipan Bandyopadhyay of Behala Nutan Dal also said they will deploy labourers from Thursday and ensure none of the barricades clog the road anymore.
Sensing a traffic congestion from Friday when several city schools will reopen, Lalbazar has asked all traffic guards to ensure there are no obstructions on main thoroughfares as well as bylanes.
Cops said any form of barricading in the bylanes is carried out by the organizers and the barricading on main roads are done by PWD on recommendation from local and traffic police. “PWD completes the job through vendors. We had begun requisitioning vendors to remove the barricades, view cutters and pavement channel from Dashami. Across Sealdah and College Street, most of the work was completed by Tuesday. On Wednesday, we are removing the remaining barricades from BB Ganguly Street,” said an officer from Sealdah Traffic Guard. The James Long traffic Guard said all obstructions from main roads will be cleared in the next 48 hours.
DC (Traffic) Yeilwad Shrikant Jagannathrao has asked all the guards to constantly monitor the work of decorators and work in tandem with civic agencies to repair roads and pavements, wherever required.
Some committees like Mudiali and Samajsebi Sangha said they had already removed all the pedestrian channels and have filled up the holes on the road to prevent accidents. TOI found labourers working outside Suruchi Sangha and Chetla Agrani even on Wednesday, pulling down the temporary structures. “We hope to remove all barricades by Thursday,” said Sabyasachi Chowdhury, a member of Chetla Agrani club.
