The indefinite closure of the Kavi Subhash (New Garia) Metro station on the north-south corridor (Blue Line) has created significant travel disruptions for patients and their relatives heading to hospitals along EM Bypass.

Thousands travel daily to hospitals along the Bypass for OPD consultations. Many relatives of admitted patients also commute regularly, with a large number relying on the Metro.

Previously, commuters would reach New Garia via the Blue Line and transfer to the New Garia–Airport (Orange Line) to access Ruby and Mukundapur. Passengers would get off at Hemanta Mukherjee (Ruby) or Jyotirindra Nandi (Mukundapur) stations to go to the hospitals along the Bypass. Others directly took autos from the New Garia station to hospitals like Peerless.

But that routine collapsed on July 28, when the Kavi Subhash Metro station was shut after cracks appeared in the platform pillars. The once-smooth journey has now turned into a logistical and financial strain.

Longer, costlier routes

A 39-year-old woman from Kharagpur travelled with her 16-year-old son to Peerless Hospital for an orthopaedic consultation on August 13. She paid ₹100 for a rickshaw for the 3.5km stretch from Shahid Khudiram (Briji) Metro station — now the southern terminus of the Blue Line — to Peerless, a ride that earlier cost her just ₹10 from the Kavi Subhash station by auto.

Her journey included a local train from Kharagpur to Howrah, a Metro on the East-West corridor (Green Line) to Esplanade, a switch to the Blue Line to reach Shahid Khudiram, and finally the rickshaw ride. “It took nearly half an hour from the station, and I paid ten times more,” she said.

Madhumita Hazra, 49, from Dakshineswar, visits RN Tagore Hospital, Mukundapur, where her husband is in critical care for a month for a neurological ailment. “Earlier, we took the Orange Line to Mukundapur from Kavi Subhash after reaching New Garia. Now, we must first take an auto from Shahid Khudiram to Kavi Subhash to board the Orange Line. It’s uncertain and exhausting,” she said.

Delays at hospitals

Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra said patients, especially from north and central Calcutta, are arriving late for appointments. “Many are missing OPD slots, and we are having to accommodate them. Metro was the most convenient option,” he said.

Hospital staff are also struggling. Peerless has started deploying pool cars from Shahid Khudiram to help staff reach the hospital, Mitra added.

At Ruby General Hospital, chief general manager Subhasish Datta said patients and relatives from the north and northern suburbs now face tedious detours. “Some are getting off at Kalighat or Ultadanga and taking buses or other transport,” he said.

Dip in footfall

A Metro official stated that passenger numbers on the Orange Line have dropped by 50 per cent since the closure of the Kavi Subhash station. “Earlier, the average daily footfall was just under 5,000. Now, it’s around 2,500,” he said.