With Mahalaya and Durga Puja approaching, Kolkata Police, under Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma, has rolled out a comprehensive traffic plan, to be enforced from September 21 to the immersion days in October.

On Mahalaya (September 21), goods vehicles will be barred from entering the city between 3 am and 10 pm, with exemptions only for carriers of essential items like LPG, petroleum, oxygen, vegetables, medicines, fish, fruits and milk.

The biggest changes begin on the Durga Puja days (September 25-October 1), when major roads across North, Central, South and suburban Kolkata will either turn one-way or face partial closures.

In North Kolkata, Rabindra Sarani (north-south, New CIT Road to Galiff Street), Dani Ghosh Sarani and Bagbazar Street (east-west) will be one-way, while restrictions will also apply to B.K. Paul Avenue, Bankim Chatterjee Street and Aurobinda Sarani. Central Kolkata will see B B Ganguly Street made one-way (west-east), Raja Ram Mohan Roy Sarani (south-north) and College Street/Bidhan Sarani (north-south, Vivekananda Road to B B Ganguly). Bus and tram services will also be curtailed in parts of C.R. Avenue, College Street and Bidhan Sarani.

In South Kolkata, Lake Road and Purna Das Road will turn one-way (west-east), Harish Mukherjee Road will run north-south from Hazra Road to AJC Bose Road, while Ritchie Road (north-south) and Earl Street (south-north) will also be restricted. Darga Road, Sadananda Road, Motilal Nehru Road and Tilak Road will face further curbs, alongside diversions of several auto routes. In the South-West, Hem Chandra Street, Hari Sabha Street and Rangalal Street will face regulations. South suburban areas, including G.S. Bose Road, Bose Pukur Road and Dhakuria Station Road will also see restrictions.

Parking will not be allowed on several key stretches: BK Paul Avenue, Baishnab Sett Lane, Bhaba Nath Sen Street and Sukia Street in the North; Akrur Dutta Lane, Dixon Lane and Gomes Lane in Central; Amrita Banerjee Road, Charu Avenue, Dover Lane, Kali Temple Road and Lake Place in the South; Hem Chandra Street, Rangalal Street and Mohan Chand Road in the South-West; and GS Bose Road, Ram Krishna Chatterjee Road and Selimpur Road in the South Suburban areas.

Buses and mini-buses will be diverted or barred on several routes, including Bidhan Sarani, with some stops relocated. Autos will not be allowed on stretches of CIT Road, Maniktala Main Road, Ultadanga Main Road, Rash Behari connector and Prince Anwar Shah Road. Taxis will be barred on Maniktala Main Road (CIT Road to EM Bypass) and restricted on M.G. Road. Trams will not run on Bidhan Sarani and College Street.

The same rules will continue during immersion days (October 2-8), with additional diversions such as rerouting north-bound traffic from Prince Anwar Shah Road and shifting some bus and minibus termini.

“These regulations aim to ensure public safety and manage traffic congestion. Commuters should plan for diversions and delays,” said an official.