Work on sewage lines in parts of the 2.5-km stretch of Biren Roy Road (West) between Behala Chowrasta and Shakuntala Park has been on for more than a couple of years. Buses on about a dozen routes that plied on the road have been withdrawn since the project began. The two lakh residents of the area and businessmen are the worst sufferers. Some of them have been forced to move out. Metro checks out the problem points:

Auto torment

The 500-odd autorickshaws plying on two routes in the area prefer the lanes to the road. In the absence of buses and with taxis refusing to enter lanes, the three-wheelers offer the sole transport option. The drivers do not hesitate to take advantage of their position. They overcharge after 10pm and during showers. After 11pm, there are hardly any three-wheelers around. Last monsoon, the lanes and bylanes in the area were inundated, stopping even the autorickshaws from plying.

Pedestrian woes

“If you aren’t home by 11pm, you are in trouble. Certain stretches are so bad that you can’t even cross them on foot during the day. A portion of the road near Natunpara is permanently waterlogged,” says Dipangshu Mitra, a BCA student who has to return late to his flat in Swaranika Complex, near Shakuntala Park. To compound problems, there are no footpaths.

Transport trouble

Each morning, residents of housing estates like Swaranika, Sarsuna Township, New Shakuntala, Mangalam Park, Imon Housing, Om Towers and Parui Housing have to queue up for autos in the sun. “The nightmare has been going on for two years,” says a resident.

Shifting the ailing to hospital is time-consuming, since ambulances have to reach Taratala via Dakghar, a detour of five km.

Students of schools like Vidya Bharati and the primary section of Vivekananda Mission are also hard hit.

Some families have shifted from the housing estates because of commuting problems.

Business challenge

The poor road connectivity has affected businesses in the area.

“Sales have gone down by 50 per cent. I am struggling to break even,” says Subrata Santra of Shakuntala Pharmacy.

The owners of Pratima Bastralaya, Nath Watch Shop, an STD booth and even Tapan Saha, who runs a roadside teashop, had the same complaint.

“Two medicine shops in Shakuntala Park, Remedy and Lifecare, had to close down,” adds Santra. “Three months ago, they laid stone chips in front of my shop. Customers have been struggling to walk into the shop since then, but the roller to level the road has not turned up.”

Councillor’s version

Local councillor Ratna Roy Majumdar admits that the residents have had to put up with several problems. But she adds: “You obviously have to make certain sacrifices today to reap a harvest tomorrow.”

When asked what caused the inordinate delay in completing the work on the sewage lines, she says the work is part of the Calcutta Environment Improvement Project, which is supposed to be completed by 2009. “We are well on course.”

But why wasn’t a service road readied before beginning work on Biren Roy Road (West)? “We had to work on all the roads,” says Majumdar.