Rush hour traffic has been thrown out of gear in New Town ever since work started on installing the Kolkata Gate at Hidco Junction. But the bottlenecks could have been avoided had some stretches, parallel to the Major Arterial Road (MAR), come up in time.
There have long been plans to connect Sector V’s Ring Road to New Town, near Balaka Abasan. Simultaneously, there are also plans to connect Akankha More to the road near Aliah University. If these two connections are built commuters would be able to leave Sector V without using the Technopolis Bridge and reach up to Akankha More bypassing the traffic of the MAR.
But work on both these stretches are stalled due to encroachments.
Ringside view
A link road is supposed to connect Sector V's Ring Road next to the bheris to the Balaka Abasan area in New Town but work had got stalled on a short stretch for around three months. It restarted last Friday but only on a minor portion.
The 1.5km road would have two main flanks, 10.5m wide, and two service roads. An old steel bridge that lies over Kestopur Canal on this stretch and is known locally as Lohapool, will also be replaced with a wider structure. Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) is building the road.
Work had got stalled here as locals, whose houses lie on this path, have refused to move out. The government had paid locals and acquired all this land during the Left Front regime but some locals are claiming they have not been paid and are refusing to move out. “We want to be paid as per today’s market rate or we will not let Hidco work here,” said Nayan Kumar Maity, 38, whose Mahishbathan house lies in the disputed area. He said the land belongs to his father-in-law.
However, Maity and his neighbours have decided to let Hidco work in a portion of the land after some political bigwigs intervened. “We met an MLA recently and he assured us of help. We are supporters of Trinamul Congress and don’t want to hamper any development work,” Maity said. “But apart from the land needed to build the road we want the rest back,” said Maity.
Stuck near Owl Junction
Another disconnected stretch lies near the Owl Junction. Driving into the lane, one is to take the first right. A short drive later the road abruptly ends with a bamboo barricade beyond which are four brick-and-cement houses. Cars cannot go further but bikes can squeeze in through a side in the dry season.
Beyond this 500-metre stretch there is again smooth tarmac that leads to Aliah University and one can see the Eco Space crossing in the horizon. Parallel to the MAR, it can be plied up to Aquatica and Balaka Abasan and if it was ready, would have helped cars bypasses the Kolkata Gate traffic snarl.
The reason why this road cannot be built is because the families settled on it have refused to move out despite being offered compensation.
“The government authorities say they have acquired the land and are offering us government rates applicable at the time of acquisition. We won’t move unless we are paid the current market rates and given land in exchange for our plots,” said Uttam Naskar who owns a mobile shop where the road is to be built.
Harish Chandra Naskar is another resident whose one-storey house lies on the disputed land. “At least six families have to be relocated if they are to build this road and we want market rate compensation,” said Naskar.
“Previously the authorities had promised us two cottah land near a main road and money to build a house but now it seems they will only pay us drastically lower prices than the prevailing market rates.”
Biswajit Mohinta, who lives in New Town’s AC Block and travels to his office in Sector V daily, is desperately waiting for the Sector V-New Town link road to be completed. “They should have completed that road before starting the Kolkata Gate installation. In fact if the stretch from Akankha More to Techno India was ready too, cars could have completely avoided the MAR and taken that route in and out of the township.”
Hidco officials say they are trying to complete the stretches as soon as possible but are helpless about the encroachment.
“It’s true that work is stalled on both these stretches due to land acquisition problem,” said a Hidco official, asking not to be named. “We have had several meetings with the locals but have yielded little results. They refuse to move unless paid market rates. Till the problem is solved work cannot resume.”
Are you facing difficulties in the absence of an alternative route connecting Sector V and New Town?
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