Slow-moving vehicles like cycle rickshaws clog up GT Road. Picture by Gopal Senapati

People taking GT Road to reach Bally, Belur or Uttarpara, face traffic jams regularly near Salkia Chowrasta. Commuters allege that there is no improvement in traffic flow on GT Road even after the police commissionerate has taken over. Instead of the mandatory one minute wait at the signal, vehicles are stagnant for five to seven minutes. Most believe that the jams take place because of the faulty traffic system on GT Road.

Salkia Chowrasta is the junction of three roads, GT Road, Benaras Road and Shree Aurobindo Road. GT Road is open to one-way traffic only. The north Howrah- and Bally-bound vehicles from Calcutta take GT Road and Calcutta-bound vehicles from Bally and north Howrah take Howrah Road (Lalababu Shire Road, Girish Ghosh Road, J. N. Mukherjee Road, Salkia School Road).

But Satyabala-Dharmatala mini buses are allowed to break the one-way rule. These mini buses take Shree Aurobindo Road after driving along GT Road from north and crossing Salkia Chowrasta. Besides, hundreds of loaded trucks from Benaras Road take GT Road after crossing Salkia Chowrasta.

Though no parking is allowed, the Salkia Chowrasta-Dharmatala mini buses are parked near this busy traffic point that aggravates the situation even more.

“We know Salkia Chowrasta is one of the busiest traffic points in Howrah. Accordingly, there are more traffic sergeants and traffic guards posted there. But the faulty traffic system at this point creates jams every day. We can only manage traffic but routes of vehicles are fixed by the Road Transport Authority (RTA),” said a senior traffic sergeant of Howrah.

Most of the auto rickshaw stands in Howrah town are unauthorised. There is one such auto rickshaw stand near the chowrasta. The autos are allowed to park in double rows occupying one-third of the road. “This auto union was with the Left Front’s trade union wing when they were in power. Now they are with Trinamul. But neither the former Left Front government nor the present Trinamul government is interested in removing the auto stand from the road,” said a resident of Benaras Road.

When Swadesh Chakraborty was the MP from Howrah and the chairman of Howrah Improvement Trust (HIT), he had proposed a flyover near Salkia Chowrasta for smooth movement of traffic. However, nothing happened of it and that proposal has been all but forgotten.