• Sector V to Jadavpur (on Friday): 2 hours 30 minutes
• Calcutta to Chennai:2 hours 20 minutes
• New Town to Mukundapur (on Thursday): 4 hours 30 minutes
• Calcutta to Singapore:4 hours 30 minutes

Crossing the pothole-ridden EM Bypass is now taking longer than flying to Chennai — or even abroad.

Multiple Calcuttans complained of harrowing traffic on the Bypass over the past few days. Kolkata Police’s traffic wing blamed it on the battered condition of EM Bypass and the adjoining roads. The rain has made things worse.

A 25-year-old Baghajatin resident said he started from Sector V near Godrej Waterside at 3.30pm on Friday and reached Sulekha, Jadavpur, at 5.50pm. “First I got stuck between Nicco Park and Chingrighata. Then began the snarls on EM Bypass.”

Commuters from New Town and Salt Lake to south Calcutta said they were stuck in traffic every day this week. Some even said walking would have been faster.

A commuter said hasty repairs last week left stretches uneven. Driving over them felt as bad as potholes, with cars jerking constantly.

Jeet Bose, an IT employee, boarded a shuttle from New Town at 6.30pm on Thursday and got off at Deshapriya Park at 10.30pm. “It was frustrating. Traffic was crawling.”

Suman Aich, driving from Tata Medical Center to Mukundapur, said on social media it took him nearly four hours — 6.30pm to 10.10pm. “I would have reached earlier walking,” he wrote.

Saptarshi Bhose, an IT employee at Karunamoyee, now leaves office at 9pm instead of 7.30pm to avoid snarls. “It takes half the time if I leave late,” said Bhose, who lives on Prince Anwar Shah Road.

Metro on Friday found multiple potholes near the Ambedkar bridge, forcing vehicles to brake and slow down. Some were so deep they looked like mini swimming pools.

On Friday, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) filled the craters with crushed bricks. Engineers said rain was delaying bituminous repairs.

“We are trying to restore the worst stretches, but the rain is hampering work,” said a KMC engineer.

Mayor Firhad Hakim also blamed the rain. “If we get 10 dry days, we will fix all roads. But rain has been relentless,” he said.

A police officer said while there are scattered potholes across the Bypass, three south-bound stretches are behind the worst snarls — Tagore Park to Ruby; near PC Chandra Gardens; and near Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute.

“Snarls on the Bypass start around 5pm and continue till 9.30pm,” the officer said.