The bridge at Garia that has turned into a commuter?s woe. A Telegraph picture

Residents of Garia and the adjacent areas, on the southern fringes of the city, are facing immense problems as reconstruction work continues on a section of Garia bridge.

The entire traffic now passes through the existing section, creating chaos. Work on the new bridge started last August but no one knows for sure when it will come to an end.

The state irrigation department recently gave the assurance that work will end before the monsoon. The total project cost of Rs 70 lakh will be borne by the irrigation department and Metro Railway.

Garia bridge connects the city proper with areas as far-flung as the Sunderbans in South 24-Parganas. Every day, a huge number of buses, auto-rickshaws, taxis, Matador vans and other vehicles cross it.

Before demolition, the old portion was used by vehicles headed for Sonarpur, Baruipur and the Sunderbans, while the existing portion was used by traffic entering the city.

Now, vehicles entering the city use the portion now open, while a part of it is occupied by hawkers, often causing accidents. As a result, it takes nearly half an hour to cover a short distance that should not take more than five minutes. Sometimes, people and schoolchildren are compelled to walk across it to save time.

Those travelling to Sonarpur, Baruipur and the Sunderbans face more serious problems. Earlier, they could easily cross the bridge but now, it takes 15 minutes longer travelling via the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.

?You can?t imagine our daily plight. Every day, we have problems returning home,? complained Subir Sen, a resident of Narendrapur.

However, the chief engineer of the irrigation department sounded optimistic, as piling work is over. ?Load-testing work is on. We are trying to finish work by March. Recently, we had a meeting with Metro Railway to speed up work,? said chief engineer Sadhan Biswas.

Local borough committee chairman and CPM councillor Batakrishna Roy, echoing Biswas, said work is in good pace and ?we expect people will get relief before the rains set in?.

But Trinamul Congress Dhakuria MLA Sougata Roy expressed disappointment with the rate of progress. ?I raised the matter in the Assembly. I shall take it up again with the authorities concerned,? he said.