Siliguri, March 1: The Siliguri Municipal Corporation along with the traffic police and the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority has drawn up a set of plans to reduce traffic congestion in the town and its adjacent areas.

According to the plan, inter-state private buses which leave from near the Central Bus Terminus, close to Siliguri Junction Station, will now depart from PC Mittal Bus Terminal on Sevoke Road, 4km away. These buses ply from Siliguri to Assam, Bihar and other northeastern states.

The decision was taken at a meeting held at the circuit house here on Friday.

Several other proposals were also discussed at the meeting in which urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya, transport minister Ranjit Kundu, SMC mayor Gangotri Dutta and SJDA officials were present.

“Inter-state buses now leave from outside the Central Bus Terminal close to Siliguri Junction. This has become one of the major reasons for traffic congestion in town. Keeping this in mind, we have decided to shift the terminus,” Bhattacharya said.

The terminus at Sevoke Road was built in February 2001 and Dooars-bound buses ply regularly from the depot.

“All Sikkim and Kalimpong-bound vehicles from New Jalpaiguri will ply through the Eastern Bypass without entering town. From Siliguri, North Bengal Medical College and Hospital and Phansidewa-bound buses and autorickshaws will be diverted through the third Mahananda bridge. This will decrease vehicular movement on Hill Cart Road and Sevoke Road,” Bhattacharya added.

The civic body, the SJDA and the Siliguri traffic police will also prepare a project report for the installation of traffic signals with timers, close circuit television cameras and diversion of buses and autorickshaws through new routes.

Transport minister Kundu said: “Several proposals were discussed at the meeting. The district administrations of Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling along with the SMC and SJDA will work together for better traffic management.”

The mayor said route numbers will be introduced for autorickshaws.

“There are autorickshaw services from here on 80 different routes. We will introduce numbers for each route. This will not only help the residents but also prevent the drivers from violating the rules,” Dutta said.