Latest News For 'Kolkata'
April 26th, 2007
Kolkata: Impromptu parking zones in front of schools leave drivers at their wits’ end and throw traffic out of gear twice every day.
For those who have a school in their neighbourhood, life turns into a nightmare twice every day.
Every morning and afternoon — when the children troop in and out — the areas turns into hell and traffic goes haywire. Irrespective of the width of the road in front of the school, three-lane or four-lane parking zones spring up. Kolkata Police’s traffic department ranks school parking as the city’s greatest traffic woe.
Most schools are located on major thoroughfares and arterial roads and these part-time illegal car parks make commuting a hellish experience for those living in these areas. Chaos prevails every day on Rawdon Street, Loudon Street and AJC Bose Road, with cars making a beeline to drop children at the two La Martiniere schools. “The snarl apart, the noise, too, is unbearable. A hospital is located nearby. Yet, guardians of children just honk their way into the school. It is a nightmare passing along any of these streets before or after school,” said Asok Trivedi, a local resident.
The situation is more acute these days as school buses have largely been replaced by car pools, which pick up children from their doorsteps and drop them back home. The problem has been compounded as the number of cars have been increasing as well. This compounds the problem and has a direct bearing on the problem of traffic snarls, said chief traffic and transportation engineer B K Sadhu.
DC (traffic) Jawed Shamim said, “This is the single largest problem we are facing right now. It can be solved to a large extent if schools cooperate with us. In spite of having enough space inside, schools do not allow cars to park there for more than 10 to 15 minutes.” If only schools whose timings clash with office hours alter their routine, half the problem would be solved, felt another traffic police officer.
St Thomas School has a huge open space inside its compound. Earlier, cars and buses were allowed to park inside. But authorities aped other schools and prohibited parking inside. Now, they do not even allow teachers to park their cars inside. So all vehicles for students and teachers are parked outside, blocking the tram tracks and carriageway. Traffic police officers say it is a harrowing task for them to maintain traffic flow every day.
Police are compelled to be lenient as towing away vehicles for violating traffic laws may complicate matters. There might be a noisy protest. Moreover, children would be stranded, which is undesirable. So, we allow multiple lane parking in front of schools for some time.
Source: TOI(KOlkata epaper)
March 26th, 2007
Kolkata: Reckless driving killed one and left 12 injured on Sunday morning. Three of the injured are said to be in critical condition.
The first accident happened around 7.45 am, in front of Birla Planetarium when a minibus, rushing madly to overtake another, skidded and fell sideways. Police said that two Naktala-Howrah route minibuses were speeding towards Dharmatala. As one took a sharp turn in front of Birla Planetarium, its driver lost control and the bus flipped over sideways.
Thirtyfive-year-old Rajanikant Mohta’s right leg was trapped under the bus. He was badly injured and was admitted to SSKM hospital in critical condition.
There were around 15 passengers inside the bus, eight were injured. The bus driver fled.
The second accident took place at Tiljala around 10.30 am. A speeding motorcycle collided head-on with a Matador van near the Basanti Expressway and EM Bypass crossing, leading to the death of the bike rider. Two other pillion riders were hospitalised. “The three youths, riding the motorcycle, were on their way to a soccer match at Choubaga. Driving at high speed they took a sharp turn, to be knocked down by the matador coming from the opposite direction,” said Mohmmad Mushtaque, a local resident.
The Matador driver tried his best to avoid collision but he failed.
The 23-year-old motorcycle driver, Ganesh Munda, died on the spot. He was a resident of Kacharipara, Dhapa. The injured pillion riders were identified as Laltu Das(22) of Mathurbabu Lane and Suresh. Laltu is now admitted to Chittaranjan National Medical College and Hospital while Suresh was taken to a private hospital. The driver of the matador van was also injured and is under treatment.
It is illegal for three persons to ride on a motorbike.
While locals alleged that there was no police personnel to man the traffic at the spot, police blamed it on reckless driving.
In an accident in Bantala, South 24-Parganas, a 27-yearold man was crushed by a van on Sunday. Ganesh Mondol was on a bicycle when a speeding Matador knocked him down from behind and ran him over. He died on the spot. Three others were injured in the road accident.
Source: TOI(Kolkata-epaper)
March 19th, 2007
Kolkata: There is relief in sight for commuters who have to jostle every day while entering or exiting Dum Dum railway station during the rush hour.
The state has drawn up a plan for better traffic and pedestrian dispersal at this busy transit point.
The plan includes building a flyover at the Nagerbazar crossing.
The area around the railway station is congested with a stream of auto-rickshaws, each trying to muscle past the other, on the narrow approach road connecting Dum Dum with Nagerbazar.
Now, a joint initiative by the railways and the state transport department is underway to address the problem. Transport minister Subhas Chakraborty, mayor Bikash Bhattacharya, local MP Amitava Nandi and senior railway officials met last week to discuss upgradation of the Dum Dum station traffic dispersal system.
The transport department estimates that nearly 100,000 people commute through Dum Dum railway station and the adjoining Metro station every day. Its officials say more space is required for smooth dispersal of traffic and pedestrians reaching or leaving the station. More road space and a flyover on the Nagerbazar intersection is a must to achieve this goal, they say.
Nandi said officials would inspect the area soon to identify land for the project.
“The transport department has submitted a traffic dispersal plan to the railways. Land will be identified around the station for the project,” he said. The MP said the project involves construction of a flyover at Nagerbazar after a survey is carried out in the area. “HRBC will inspect the place soon,” he said.
According to Nandi, some plots are lying unutilised in the area for long.
“There is a closed cinema hall in the area and several factories have long downed their shutters. The land on which they stand could be utilised for effective dispersal of traffic in and around the station,” he said.
The government wants to implement the project under the Centre’s National Urban Renewal Mission scheme.
Two years ago, the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority had set up a two-lane Dum Dum underpass near the railway station to ease traffic congestion on the nearby Dum Dum Road. However, the underpass did not help much.
Source: TOI(Kolkata-epaper)
March 19th, 2007
Kolkata: There is relief in sight for commuters who have to jostle every day while entering or exiting Dum Dum railway station during the rush hour.
The state has drawn up a plan for better traffic and pedestrian dispersal at this busy transit point.
The plan includes building a flyover at the Nagerbazar crossing.
The area around the railway station is congested with a stream of auto-rickshaws, each trying to muscle past the other, on the narrow approach road connecting Dum Dum with Nagerbazar.
Now, a joint initiative by the railways and the state transport department is underway to address the problem. Transport minister Subhas Chakraborty, mayor Bikash Bhattacharya, local MP Amitava Nandi and senior railway officials met last week to discuss upgradation of the Dum Dum station traffic dispersal system.
The transport department estimates that nearly 100,000 people commute through Dum Dum railway station and the adjoining Metro station every day. Its officials say more space is required for smooth dispersal of traffic and pedestrians reaching or leaving the station. More road space and a flyover on the Nagerbazar intersection is a must to achieve this goal, they say.
Nandi said officials would inspect the area soon to identify land for the project.
“The transport department has submitted a traffic dispersal plan to the railways. Land will be identified around the station for the project,” he said. The MP said the project involves construction of a flyover at Nagerbazar after a survey is carried out in the area. “HRBC will inspect the place soon,” he said.
According to Nandi, some plots are lying unutilised in the area for long.
“There is a closed cinema hall in the area and several factories have long downed their shutters. The land on which they stand could be utilised for effective dispersal of traffic in and around the station,” he said.
The government wants to implement the project under the Centre’s National Urban Renewal Mission scheme.
Two years ago, the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority had set up a two-lane Dum Dum underpass near the railway station to ease traffic congestion on the nearby Dum Dum Road. However, the underpass did not help much.
Source: TOI(Kolkata-epaper)
March 14th, 2007
Kolkata: The government on Tuesday unveiled a slew of plans to reduce traffic congestion at the entry points to the IT hub in Sector V.
A flyover will be built on Salt Lake Bypass, right in front of the Wipro campus. And two footbridges will be built across the eastern drainage canal — one at Karunamoyee and the other opposite Nicco Park.
On Tuesday, urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya unveiled plans for a better Sector V, with a new IT and logistics centre, improved water and sewerage facilities, and improved roads.
The decision was taken by Bhattacharya at a meeting of the Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NITA) on Tuesday. NITA chairman S A Ahmed and senior KMDA officials were present at the meeting.
The minister said the flyover and footbridges would be taken up on a priority basis and tender processes would be completed by May. Construction is expected to be completed within a year.
The four-lane, 500-metre flyover will ease traffic congestion between the city and New Town because vehicles will no longer have to take the crossing in front of Wipro. KMDA will build the flyover.
The existing bridge near this crossing that connects Sector V with Karunamoyee will be earmarked only for vehicular traffic. A new footbridge will be constructed alongside for pedestrians. A second footbridge will be built opposite Nicco Park to minimise pedestrian movement along the Salt Lake Bypass.
Repair of nine key roads in Sector V — started six months ago — would be completed in six months.
Bhattacharya said the IT logistics centre would be on the lines of Delhi’s Habitat Centre. A 3.5-acre plot has been earmarked for it. “We will invite a joint venture partner, because there would be a multi-storey parking lot adjacent to this place that can accommodate 200 to 250 vehicles,” Bhattacharya said.
Jusco will take up the drinking water projects and Hidco will handle the drainage system upgrade.
Source: TOI(Kolkata-epaper)
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