Cops visit Joka, Behala to sensitise auto drivers and pedestrians about traffic rules
Telegraph | 20 February 2026
Senior officers of Kolkata Police on Thursday visited the Behala Chowrasta intersection and stretches of Diamond Harbour Road and James Long Sarani in Thakurpukur, where at least five road deaths have been reported in the last 10 days, to sensitise auto drivers and pedestrians about traffic rules.
Joint commissioner (traffic) Rupesh Kumar, who also holds the charge of joint commissioner (crime), said the visit aimed to engage directly with drivers and commuters and encourage them to follow traffic regulations.
Commuters who travel through the stretch daily said autorickshaws, buses and motorcycles frequently flout traffic rules, often jumping signals at will.
“There have been five accidents on Diamond Harbour Road and James Long Sarani in the past few days. We have carried out a detailed study on the accidents and found the root cause. Today we visited the area for inspection and for sensitising auto drivers and pedestrians,” Kumar told Metro.
This newspaper reported on Tuesday about issues that make these roads prone to accidents, including jaywalking, traffic rule violations, insufficient police presence, footpath encroachments and slow-moving vehicles.
Around 11pm on February 15, a man and a woman, both 30, died in a motorcycle accident outside ESI Medical College and Hospital, Joka, on Diamond Harbour Road. The bike lost balance, and after they fell, a vehicle ran them over, the police said.
Earlier, on the morning of February 8, two MBBS students of ESI Joka Medical College and Hospital, part of a larger group of medical students on a night out, died on James Long Sarani near Thakurpukur.
A truck hit them while attempting to overtake from the right; the students fell and were run over. The crash occurred at the crossing of James Long Sarani and Purba Para around 3.30am.
The following morning, February 9, 40-year-old Arup Mandal, a resident of Maheshtala in South 24-Parganas, was on his way to see a relative at the hospital when he was hit by a truck in front of the hospital’s main gate around 5.15am. He later died from his injuries at the hospital.