KOLKATA: From making passengers stuck in traffic jam for hours and many missing flights last year to a snarl-free smooth sailing experience this year that is making passengers headed to airport reach way earlier than their scheduled flight, airport-bound traffic on VIP Road has made a remarkable turnaround this year.
A number of innovative steps by Bidhannagar Police have enabled them to beat the traffic blues, about which chief minister Mamata Banerjee had alerted cops and puja organisers time and again in the run-up to the festival.
Last year, the Burj Khalifa replica at Sreebhumi Sporting Club had brought traffic to a halt on both flanks of VIP Road. The pandal had to be shut down to visitors on Ashtami.
This year, while inaugurating Sreebhumi Sporting Club's puja, Banerjee had asked for better coordination between puja organisers and cops and cautioned to shut the puja again in case airport-bound traffic gets disrupted.
Prodded by the CM, Bidhannagar Police devised a new traffic action plan, much different from how it had been in the last few years.
To start with, cops have started providing green channels for vehicles between Golaghata and Bangur Avenue and are offering less time at traffic signals for vehicles on VIP Road than those approaching VIP Road from adjacent roads.
"Buses coming from Ultadanga are guided to take the service road till Golaghata where they are dropping passengers and then taking the VIP Road with no stoppage at Lake Town and Dum Dum Park. Then buses are stopping straight at Bangur Avenue. Thus, the traffic chaos near the main pujas on VIP Road is avoided," said a senior officer of Bidhannagar Commissionerate.
The commissionerate has also brought back experienced cops who have handled traffic on VIP Road before and are barricading a portion of Kolkata-bound flank and plying airport-bound traffic on six lanes.
There is also better coordination between Kolkata Police and Bidhannagar police than earlier years where Bidhannagar cops are stationed at Ultadanga crossing and officers of Ultadanga traffic guard are frequenting Lake Town alerting their own divisions about the state of approaching traffic.
"We have also barred movement of autos on VIP Road post evening and are preventing pedestrian crossover on VIP Road. We have also made multiple subways operational," said the officer.
However, while the VIP Road is free of traffic congestion, the connecting roads at some major crossings like Chinar Park, Dum Dum Park and Baguiati are experiencing traffic chaos and much longer waiting time at traffic signals than usual.
Several bus routes have also been diverted along Ultadanga or Airport Gate 1 to ease pressure on the connecting roads along Lake Town, Nagerbazar, Dum Dum Park and Bangur Avenue.
Motorists also said although the Ultadanga-bound flank is also getting clogged occasionally due to two lane traffic movement in an attempt to keep VIP Road bound traffic flowing.