(Top) An extension of Canal West Road, purported to be a lorry corridor, lies unpaved for years; (above) a billboard announces the renovation project taken up by HRBC, with a target deadline. Pictures by Bishwarup Dutta

The deadline for the completion of the renovation of Canal West Road has come and gone, but the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC), which is implementing the project, doesn’t even know about it.

The HRBC had taken up the work of extending Canal West Road under the aegis of the transport department. The Rs 6-crore project had been approved by the state government almost two years back, confirmed local MLA Sadhan Pandey.

A huge signage at the mouth of Canal West Road reads that work was to commence on January 16, 2008, and finish by September 16, 2008. HRBC has just been able to start work at the Maniktala end.

The HRBC top brass denied any knowledge of a September target. “I am not aware of any billboard claiming that the renovation work will be completed by September 16. HRBC never issues any such target. It may have been put up by the construction agency. But if everything goes fine, the work should be over by April-May 2009,” said Sadhan Banerjee, the vice-chairman of HRBC.

But with a technical snag stalling the revamp work yet again, even that “deadline” seems to be under a cloud. “Work had started before the pujas, but the underground pipes got damaged in the process. A new pipeline has to be laid before work can be resumed,” explained Pandey, a Trinamul MLA.

Lorry corridor

Canal West Road was touted as a corridor for goods vehicles plying between the city and its northern fringes. Connecting BT Road with Maniktala through Mahatma Sisir Kumar Sarani, Canal West Road could have eased congestion at the Shyambazar five-point crossing.

But the transport department has allowed the connector to lie unused for more than a decade. As a result, goods-laden trucks looking for an easy access to the city jostle for space with cars and buses at the Netaji statue, endangering lives and adding to the traffic chaos during the morning rush hour.

“Canal West Road has been lying unpaved and out-of-bounds for goods vehicles for the past 15 years,” said an officer of the Sealdah Traffic Guard.

“It is one of the stretches in town where lorries are allowed round-the-clock. Once it is renovated, it can be used as a lorry corridor,” said Dilip Banerjee, the deputy commissioner of traffic.

Mahatma Sisir Kumar Sarani, the 500m stretch linking BT Road with RG Kar Road, and Canal West Road play a vital role in truck movement from Dunlop to Maniktala, taking a huge load off the Shyambazar crossing.

“The entire stretch can be used by goods vehicles plying from BT Road to reach places like Tangra and Topsia,” explained a senior officer of Shyambazar Traffic Guard.

Trucks now use the in-between Nanda Kishore Street to hit RG Kar Road before driving towards the five-point crossing or Bhupendra Bose Avenue.

“This has increased the congestion at the Shyambazar crossing. Trucks have become a regular feature there. It’s very risky. We fear for our lives,” said Pranab Roy, a local resident.

“If Canal West Road is opened to traffic, it will take only 15 minutes to reach Maniktala from RG Kar Road,” said Prahlad Mondal, who works in a shop on RG Kar Road. Currently, both flanks of Canal West Road are used as a parking lot by private buses and trucks.

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