State government mulls more buses on EM Bypass, seeks the Kolkata Police’s opinion
Telegraph | 12 April 2025
The state government wants to run more buses on EM
Byass and has sought the Kolkata Police’s opinion on whether it will pose
challenges in traffic management.
On Friday, senior transport department
officials and city police officers discussed the challenges that may arise if
more buses are allowed on the Bypass.
“The legalities of this decision were
discussed, and a final decision would be made after we get feedback from the
police,” transport secretary Saumitra Mohan said.
A state government
notification issued on February 11, 2005, had imposed restrictions on the
“plying of state carriage buses” through the Bypass from the Hudco crossing in
Ultadanga to the Garia station road-EM Bypass crossing.
The notification said
the number of buses plying on the Bypass would be restricted to the permits
issued by the regional transport authorities.
The permits would be granted for
“stage carriage or contract carriage,” the notification said.
“Only the
regional transport authorities of North and South 24-Parganas and Howrah could
issue permits to buses to ply through the Bypass, and not the state transport
authority (STA), which issues permits for buses across the state,” a senior
transport department official said.
“We want to do away with this notification
and make new provisions wherein the STA would be empowered to issue bus permits
on the Bypass,” said the official.
The number of passengers depending on private
and state-run buses for daily commute through the Bypass has grown
exponentially over the last two decades, with a significant number using the
thoroughfare to reach Sector V.
Senior police officers said the count of
vehicles on the Bypass grew even more since the pandemic, particularly
two-wheelers and private cars.
A section of daily commuters complained about a
lack of enough buses on the Bypass.
“The existing number of buses on the
Bypass isn’t prepared to handle the peak hour rush. We need more buses on
different routes connecting Sector V, Airport, Thakurpukur and Garia,” said
Anuradha Sengupta, an IT sector employee from Kasba said.
Transport
department officials said the Bypass’s vehicle capacity will
increase once the New Garia-Airport metro becomes operational. “Police
shouldn’t face many challenges if more buses are allowed to ply along the
Bypass.”