Calcutta, July 11: There is hope yet for the congested thoroughfares and bylanes of north and central Calcutta, but maybe not as much as the transport minister would have us believe.

Subhas Chakraborty, in true characteristic hyperbole style, promised to turn “Burrabazar into a Maidan”.

The key to the minister’s decongestion drive lies in the four truck and two bus terminii being planned on the city’s outskirts to reduce traffic load and regulate heavy vehicular movement in the city’s trade hub.

The terminii, claimed Chakraborty, would ease the crippling burden on Burrabazar and enable it to mirror the mood on the Maidan.

The first terminus is slated to come up at Dakshineswar, near the new Vivekananda bridge, and the second on Delhi Road, near Serampore. The transport department is planning the third terminus at either Barasat or Rajarhat, while the fourth, catering to trucks carrying vegetables, will be near Basanti.

An estimated 50,000 to 60,000 trucks enter the city every day, laden with fruits, vegetables and other perishable items and merchandise.

At present, entry of heavy trucks is limited to between 8.30 pm and 8 am.

Once the four termini move into gear, the heavy-vehicle count entering Calcutta should drop to around 8,000 or 10,000, the minister claimed.

Earlier this week, one of the country’s largest truck terminals was inaugurated at Dhulagarh, off National Highway 6, by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. .

Another truck terminal at Budge Budge is “almost ready”, Chakraborty pointed out.