The busy but narrow stretch that connects Jadavpur with EM Bypass plunges into darkness almost every evening, often for more than an hour, facilitating illegal activity and posing challenges to pedestrians and vehicles. Metro checks out the problem points on the artery.

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Streetlights

Lights go out along the length of the three-km road on a regular basis after sunset. “I often find the road pitch dark and it’s difficult to negotiate the stretch then, with numerous cycle-rickshaws, bicycles and autorickshaws plying on it,” said Munna Singh, a taxi driver.

Anamika Sinha, a techie who returns to her Survey Park home after midnight every day, said she seldom finds the road lit.

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No sidewalks, no traffic police

There are no sidewalks on portions of the connector, putting the lives of pedestrians at risk. Local resident Manju Das, 65, said vehicles in their bid to rush ahead often hit people on the road. “Overtaking from the left is the norm here. People getting off buses regularly sustain injuries after being dashed by motorcycles and autorickshaws.”

The residents feel that rules would continue to be flouted on the road unless the men in uniform take the culprits to task.

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Jora bridge

The area around Jora bridge — where Survey Park and Santoshpur Avenue meet — is a bottleneck because of a rickshaw stand.

According to Shekhar Roy, the secretary of the Jora Bridge Byabsayi Samity, the numerous private and state buses plying on the artery are responsible for traffic chaos.

“They stop on the bridge to pick up passengers. Some of the vehicles held up behind them switch lanes, leading to even longer queues,” he said.

Local residents had taken up an initiative to punish errant drivers by making them go back, which cut down the number of violations.

“But now, it’s back to square one,” said Roy.

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Thefts and hooch

The absence of streetlights has encouraged petty theft and other illegal activity along the road. A country liquor shop does brisk business along the Panchannagram canal. “Snatchings are common. Criminals frequent the country liquor shop, posing a threat to women in the area, especially when the lights are out,” said a resident.

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Councillorspeak

The stretch falls in wards 103 and 109 of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. “The road is adequately lit. However, power supply depends on CESC,” said Subrata Dasgupta, the councillor of ward 103.

Dasgupta asserted that no licence had been issued for a country liquor shop and promised to look into the matter. He said he had repeatedly requested East Jadavpur police for deploying men at the foot of Sukanta Setu and near Jora bridge. “The CMDA is developing a 80-ft-wide artery connecting Jora bridge with Kalikapur and EM Bypass. It should be ready by March 2009 and will ease traffic pressure in the Survey Park area,” added Dasgupta.

— Rith Basu