One of the bus stands that have come up outside Aliah University. There is another one across the street and the university itself is 1.7 km away from the Major Arterial Road (MAR).  The stands were constructed at a rapid pace after the university authorities requested the NKDA for them. 

 

No takers: A bus shelter has been recently constructed on the service lane opposite City Centre 2, but it stands unused since no buses enter the lane. “We’ll miss the bus if we wait under the shed,” said Mandavi Agarwal, who lives in the Shrachi housing complex nearby. “So we continue to stand on the divider.”

 

In the absence of an overhead shelter, commuters sit on the median divider in front of Rabindra Tirtha. This busy junction does have some bus stands but none on the flank headed towards the Unitech building. “The nearby bus stand is on the airport-bound flank. Those of us headed to Unitech have to wait here under the sun. I wish the authorities make a bus stand here too,” said Shovik Paul, a college student.

 

There isn’t a single shelter on either flank of the road in front of the Unitech building and so commuters have to jostle for space with autos, taxis and buses. “We risk our lives by stepping on the carriageway to board buses. And it’s worse during the monsoon as we get drenched waiting for a ride home,” said Soumavo Maitra, a techie.

 

The Akankha crossing on the airport-bound flank of the MAR has a signboard of a bus stand (circled in picture) but no bus stand. “I can’t believe there’s no bus stand at one of the busiest crossings of New Town. It’s punishing to wait here in summer,” said Arpita Mukherjee, a resident of Moonbeam complex nearby.