Pandemonium is permanent at the Baguiati and Kestopur crossings on VIP Road with vehicles jostling for space with pedestrians. Autorickshaws and cycle-rickshaws flout rules and hawkers spill on to the carriageway, slowing down traffic to the airport.

“When I look into the eyes of people crossing VIP Road, I only see fear. They know that they can be knocked down any moment,” a policeman posted at Baguiati crossing told Metro. Here’s a checklist of the problems:

No overbridge or underpass

More than 2.5 lakh people live around the Baguiati crossing while the population around the Kestopur intersection is about 1.5 lakh. During the peak hour, about 4,000 vehicles cross the stretch. There is no overbridge or underpass or even a zebra crossing at the intersections, forcing people to dodge fast-moving vehicles while crossing the road. Stalls on the footpath increase the risk for pedestrians.

The mishap toll on VIP Road is 29 this year, including the 21 who died in the Kestopur bus mishap this month. The last victim was a nine-year-old boy.

Auto menace

VIP Road narrows down from three lanes to two near Kestopur. No U-turn is allowed at either crossing but the rule is seldom enforced.

“The Citu arm-twists us into allowing autorickshaws to make U-turns at Kestopur. So we can’t stop other vehicles either,” said a policeman.

Thousands of autorickshaws on six routes — Ultadanga, Satgachhi, Shyamnagar, Rajarhat, airport gate No. 1 and Jatragachhi — ply from the Baguiati crossing.

Rickshaws & goods carriages

Rickshaws are banned on VIP Road but not only do they ply openly but also move from one side of the road to the other. All efforts to rein them in have come to naught because of intervention by political leaders, say residents.

Goods carriages are also banned on the stretch during the day, unless they have special permits. But many trucks use VIP Road at daytime. There are three truck stands on VIP Road, one of them near the Baguiati intersection.

Racing buses

The lessons of the Kestopur accident have been quickly forgotten. Buses racing one another have once again become a common sight on VIP Road. Railings have been installed on portions of the road bordering the canal, but they are too weak to withstand the impact of a collision. The railing starts at Kestopur, leaving a gap exactly at the spot where the bus had fallen into the canal on April 4.

Clogged arteries

Two narrow arteries on either side of the Baguiati intersection — Hatiara Road and Chalpatti Road — are clogged with pedestrians and vehicles in the evening. The resultant snarls stall traffic on VIP Road.

Officialspeak: “We conduct raids at least once a year to remove illegal stalls but the hawkers come back soon after,” said Tapas Chakraborty, the chairman of Rajarhat-Gopalpur municipality.

The state government announced last month that a flyover would be constructed over the crossings within two years.