The railing being erected on VIP Road. Picture by Aranya Sen

The public works department (PWD) has built a railing along VIP Road at Kestopur where a bus recently fell into a canal, but it’s unlikely to prevent a rerun of the mishap.

Fencing the 25 feet stretch is part of the PWD’s plan to erect railings along the airport artery. The department is responsible for maintaining the 8-km road. According to an estimate, about 4-km road on each flank needs a railing.

“We don’t want a repeat of the fatal accident and so we have decided to erect an iron railing on VIP Road where it borders canals and other water bodies,” said Kshiti Goswami, the PWD minister.

The railing at the spot where a private bus on route 217B fell into Lower Bagjola Canal — killing 21 people — is the first step. “The barrier is an emergency measure to prevent vehicles from skidding off the road,” said A. Banerjee, the PWD officer looking after the maintenance of VIP Road.

The local residents welcomed the initiative. However, they are not sure whether the railing will actually prevent a speeding vehicle from falling into the canal.

“Putting up the railing is only an eyewash. The barrier is too weak to be of any use,” said Tanmoy Mondal, the former Trinamul Congress MLA from the area.

Goswami had said that iron beams and steel wires would be used to fence VIP Road, but his department has used iron railings that are generally used as dividers on city roads.

“Iron railing of the type used in dividers cannot withstand a direct hit by buses, mini-trucks or even taxis,” said a senior official of the transport department.

According to him, an empty bus weighs nearly 6 tonne while a small car weighs nearly 2 tonne with passengers. As most vehicles move at a speed of 40-50 km per hour, they generate enough momentum to dislodge the railing.

Bhargav Moitra, an IIT professor and a transport expert, in a report to the state government had recommended use of embankments, iron beams and steel wires to fence mishap-prone stretches.

Some local residents argued that even the strongest-possible railing would not be enough to make VIP Road safe unless the traffic rules were enforced.

“Vigilant police and stringent penalty for traffic rule violation are the best deterrents. Drivers will not dare to break traffic rules if they know they would be caught and penalised heavily,” said Tapas Chatterjee, the chairman of Rajarhat-Gopalpur municipality.