A flyover is expected to ease the flow of traffic and prevent bottlenecks. In Calcutta, however, much of their purpose is defeated.

One of the most blatant violations on the roads is now taking place on flyovers: passengers waiting on or near these speed corridors to hop on to buses, autos and shuttle cabs, vehicles passing yards from them.

Apart from the obvious risk of fatal accidents, the violation has slowed down traffic on many of these flyovers.

Metro visited two such flyovers to find the problems plaguing them.

AJC Bose Road flyover

Commuters assemble at the mouth of the two flyovers, in violation of rules. (Sayantan Ghosh)

What we saw: At the SSKM Hospital-end, a group of around 10 people stand scattered on the incline. A Maruti Omni, moving at breakneck speed, screeches to a halt a few metres from the group. There is a mad scramble to reach it. After speaking to the driver, many of them hop on to the vehicle. The rest, who are unable to find a place in the car, return to their waiting spot, dodging several speeding vehicles climbing the incline.

Within minutes, the group swells by half a dozen. The same scene unfolds when a white Ambassador stops to pick up the passengers.

Rulebook: The AJC Bose Road flyover is meant only for vehicles. It is strictly off-limits to pedestrians. The flyover has no walking strips or staircases, which feature in some bridges built over railway lines.

Police voice: The construction of a ramp on the eastern end of the flyover, which will enable vehicles to get down on AJC Bose Road, is responsible for this “temporary” phenomenon. “Transport department buses ferrying passengers to New Town take the flyover because of the construction. Passengers who want to board these buses wait here. Once the flank is ready, the original routes will be revived,” said a traffic officer.

Ground reality: This explanation is only partly correct. It explains why buses stop there but is silent on shuttle cabs. Most of the area around the flyover is a no-stop zone for commercial vehicles because it is a route for VIPs.

Durgapur Bridge on VIP Road

What we saw: It’s 5.30pm. A crowd has started to assemble at the foot of the bridge, leading to VIP Road. In the absence of any traffic cop to drive them away, most of them have spilled on to the road. The traffic lights at the CIT Road-Ultadanga crossing turn green. Buses, autos and private cars rush towards the commuters. By now, the crowd of around 35 has scattered all over, searching for the right mode of transport. For a couple of minutes, it’s a free-for-all, with vehicles trying to overtake each other in order to fetch more passengers who, in turn, try to hop on to moving vehicles.

“Most of those who assemble here wait for vehicles for Dum Dum, Nagerbazar, Baguiati, Madhyamgram and Birati,” says Nagerbazar resident Saugata Ghosh.

Rulebook: According to a sergeant of the Ultadanga traffic guard, no vehicle is allowed to stop at the foot of Durgapur Bridge to pick up passengers.

Police voice: “Some vehicles used to stop at the spot, but we cracked down on them. Everything is fine now,” said a sergeant of the Ultadanga traffic guard.

Ground reality: The practice is still rampant. Every evening, hundreds assemble at the intersection and wait for vehicles. Sayantan Banerjee, a regular passenger on the route, says: “The passengers who wait here have turned the place into a bus stop. It is up to the police to discontinue the practice by creating a proper bus stop, where people can wait for transport.”