The D-I-Y mothers at one of the new bus stops on Bangur Avenue. (Soumen Bhattacharjee)

A group of do-it-yourself mothers who took to managing traffic at an unmanned VIP Road crossing last December have since done what successive PWD ministers couldn’t do — demolish and replace two unsafe bus stops.

The new bus stops on either lane of the busy Bangur Avenue crossing are the result of a citizens’ initiative that had started small with four mothers deciding to devote a few hours every day to reining in road rogues.

The movement has just turned five months and the strength of the D-I-Y brigade has swelled to 10, most of them homemakers concerned about the safety of their children in the face of rising traffic indiscipline.

“The old bus stops were poorly planned and needed to be relocated to prevent accidents and congestion at the intersection of VIP Road and Bangur Avenue,” said Khushi Mitra, a member of the group, which had started out by putting up a sign that warned bus, taxi and auto drivers against stopping anywhere other than at the designated points.

The bus stop on the lane leading to the airport has now been shifted almost 30 feet back towards Ultadanga and the opposite one has moved north, closer to Dum Dum Park.

“Former and current councillors Anup Mitra and Mriganka Bhattacharya helped us get permission from the PWD,” said Mitra.

Financial support came from the Bangur Residents’ Association, which funded a part of the Rs 40,000 bus stop project.

“We felt all residents needed to contribute to the cause,” said Prabir Chatterjee, the association’s secretary.

Petitions from Bangur residents to shift the old bus stops were allegedly pending with the PWD since the time of minister Kshiti Goswami’s predecessor, Amar Choudhury.

So what motivates the women of Bangur to spend time on the road trying to keep unruly drivers from breaking the rules?

“We are doing this for our own safety. Family members of some of us have been injured in accidents at this crossing,” said Aruna Banerjee, a member of the group.

Buoyed by the success of Project Bus Stop, the brave women of Bangur are already on to their next — a pedestrian overbridge at the crossing.