National Highway 6 (NH6), which connects Surat to Calcutta, cuts through some densely populated rural areas of Howrah, where residents pay little heed to traffic norms. Accidents are common in these areas as pedestrians almost never use footbridges or underpasses, choosing to cross the busy road at will. Metro takes a look at two such danger zones in Howrah.

Salap   

Salap crossing, where Makardah Road and Bankra meet National Highway 6, is one such accident-prone zone. Vehicles travelling along the highway take the Pankuria bridge that ends a few metres ahead of the Salap crossing. Speeding vehicles coming down from the bridge towards Salap crossing often run into pedestrians crossing the road, through gaps in the divider.

Bikes and cycle-vans, too, cross the highway in a similar fashion. There is a footbridge for pedestrians at the crossing, but it remains unused. So does a pedestrian underpass that has come up a few metres from the crossing.

Nine accidents took place at this crossing last year, leaving six persons dead and three severely injured. There have already been three deaths in four accidents this year.

But local residents seem oblivious to the risks. “I have to deliver bales of cloth on my cycle-van from Bankra market to garment workshops in Salap. It is difficult to pull a huge load and go an extra half kilometre to take the underpass and reach the other side, so I cross the road carefully from Salap crossing,” said Balai Mondal, a cycle-van driver.

Police, on their part, plead helplessness. “It is difficult to have surveillance over a vast area like Salap crossing.

Pedestrians, two-wheelers and vans cross the road just about anywhere. We have appointed civic police to man the crossing, especially during busy hours,” said Sumit Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Traffic, Howrah.

Bally

The approach road of NH6 running to and from the Nivedita Setu toll plaza and Dankuni is another danger zone. The road runs through the highly populated Thakurani Chowk and Saheb Bagan on one side and Rajchandrapur and Basukati on the other. Several residents from both areas risk their lives every day to cross the highway and reach the other side.

In November last year, three people died and 15 were injured when the driver of a private car braked hard to avoid hitting a woman crossing the road. A speeding bus crashed into the car that turned turtle, killing two passengers and the woman the driver had tried to save. A tall wire fence was put up on the Rajchandrapur side of the road, but that has not helped. People continue to risk their lives and cross the road.

A culvert in between the fence is a popular cross-over point. Somenath Roy, a resident of Thakurani Chowk, regularly crosses the road from here to reach his garments store at Rajchandrapur Natun Bazar. “I am careful. If I see there is too much traffic on the road, I avoid it. The other route is an extra 700m,” said Roy.

“It is difficult to control local people where the highway passes through crowded residential areas. They take  short-cuts and risk their lives to cross the road,” said Kumar.