Vehicles moving at a snail’s pace, snarls every few metres, mishaps and

altercations among motorists are common on one of the busiest stretches in south Calcutta. The

2.2-km stretch between

Tollygunge Phari and Taratala flyover, consisting of Tollygunge Circular Road and Taratala Road, is a nightmare for motorists, passengers and pedestrians. Metro identifies the problem points on the arteries:

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Road width

Tollygunge Circular Road and Taratala Road are both narrow. Two buses and a car are enough to choke the carriageways.

Then there is the even narrower Tollygunge bridge on Tollygunge Circular Road. The 72-year-old structure is one of the major causes of congestion.

The footpaths on the bridge have been taken over by hawkers and vegetable and fruit vendors. The pedestrians are forced to walk along the carriageway. Mishaps occur often on the bridge.

“While crossing the bridge on foot, motorcycles and cars have grazed me on several occasions,” said Rasbehari Majumdar, who walks to his shop in Charu Market daily.

Volume of vehicles

At least 350 autorickshaws ply on four routes and over 200 buses on 11 routes. Several school buses, rickshaws, cycle-vans and trucks also use the road everyday.

According to the transport department, 1,700 vehicles cross the stretch per hour when traffic is at its peak. The roads cannot accommodate more than 1,400 vehicles per hour, an official said.

The two autorickshaw-stands at Tollygunge Phari add to the congestion.

“I am often stuck in snarls on Tollygunge Circular Road for more than 20 minutes on my way to school,” said Suman Mukherjee, a Class IX student of St Joseph and Mary’s School.

Traffic policing

There are only three traffic signals on the stretch — at the Deshapran Sashmal Road crossing (Tollygunge Phari), New Alipore rotary and Taratala Road.

Residents feel that the 19 lanes on either side of the thoroughfare require more signals. The lack of a signal near Tollygunge bridge often causes snarls.

“Vehicles often bump into one another and hit pedestrians and cyclists, but no fatal accidents have taken place on this stretch in the past year,” said Sadhin Kumar Sarkar, the officer-in-charge of New Alipore police station.

Over 15 traffic policemen are deployed on the roads during office hours. But the volume of traffic is so heavy in the morning and evening that it is impossible to maintain a smooth flow no matter how many cops are used, said a senior officer of Tollygunge Traffic Guard.

Dug-up roads

The situation has deteriorated further with the civic authorities digging up Taratala Road near Suren De Triangular Park and at the Ramtanu Lahiri Sarani crossing to lay sewage pipes. “Autos and cars often get stuck in the soil,” said Shailesh Gupta, a New Alipore resident. The footpaths that were dug up in places have remained in that state.

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Officialspeak: “We conduct raids to remove hawkers but they return soon after,” Sarkar said.

“Tollygunge Circular Road is hardly 6 metres wide when it should be at least 8 metres. But there is no scope to widen the road,” said A.K. Das, the executive traffic and transport engineer of the state transport department.