Buses on several routes, as well as heavy and medium-sized vehicles, will be rerouted after Moti Lal Gupta Road, which links Tollygunge and Diamond Harbour Road on the city’s southern fringes, is closed for KEIP’s sewerage pipeline work.

A traffic advisory, issued jointly by Kolkata Police and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Monday, said the work will begin immediately, and the road will remain shut for heavy vehicles, including buses, for 90 days.

The advisory on traffic diversion came within three days of Mayor Firhad Hakim setting a July deadline for the KEIP (Kolkata Environment and Infrastructure Improvement Programme) to complete the Behala drainage work.

Sources in the KMC said the drainage improvement work in this part of the city has been in progress for over a year. The impact is yet to be felt since the pipe-laying work remained incomplete.

The waterlogging woes of a section of residents of Moti Lal Gupta Road, Shakuntala Park and Mahatma Gandhi Road have remained unchanged, with many forced to wade through knee-deep water during the monsoons.

“Since Moti Lal Gupta remains a very crucial connector, a traffic diversion plan has been drawn up for the period when heavy vehicles, including buses, minibuses and lorries, will not be allowed to take this thoroughfare,” a senior officer of the city traffic police said.

“The officers-in-charge of several traffic guards of the area have been informed, and necessary banners and boards have been put up,” said the
officer.

According to the plan, goods vehicles and buses on routes S31, AC31 and SD4/1 headed towards the Sakherbazar crossing on Diamond Harbour Road from the Muchipara crossing in Tollygunge will be directed along Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road towards the intersection of Chowrasta and James Long Sarani and made to move further west towards Biren Roy Road.

“Heavy vehicles headed towards Muchipara from the Sakherbazar crossing will take Diamond Harbour Road, proceed to Santosh Roy Road, and finally move down
Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road to reach Tollygunge,” the officer said.

Moti Lal Gupta Road remains the only link for those planning to reach the Tollygunge Metro station from parts of Joka, Behala Chowrasta and those living along James Long Sarani in Behala.

“An autorickshaw ride along Moti Lal Gupta Road helps us reach the Tollygunge Metro station faster compared to taking an autorickshaw to reach Kalighat Metro station,” said Amrita Sarkar, a Shakuntala Park resident in Behala.

“Travelling becomes a challenge on this thoroughfare during the monsoon because of waterlogging. The pipe laying work doesn’t seem to end,” she said.

Autorickshaws would be allowed to ply on the road, said a police officer.

Almost a decade back, when the KMC took up a project to improve the city’s drainage system through KEIP, a bulk of the project’s funds were allocated towards improving Behala’s drainage system, sources in the KMC said.

When the pipeline work was completed, a section of KMC engineers realised a fault, and a second phase was launched.

Parts of Sakherbazar, Silpara, Shakuntala Park and James Long Sarani were identified for drainage upgradation work.

“Since the mayor has set a deadline, this work in the second phase will be completed by July,” a senior KMC official said.