Calcutta, Aug. 1: The smoke wasn’t as smothering because the foulest fume-belching commercial vehicles stayed off Calcutta roads today, but commuters couldn’t breathe easy.

Traffic was about 40 per cent less than usual and it was great if you had your own transport, not otherwise.

“Today was the first day of the ban (on vehicles 15 years and older). But many outside its purview also did not risk taking vehicles out fearing vio- lence. You can’t blame them,” said Trinamul Congress leader Swarnakamal Saha, a spokesperson for the umbrella body of transport operators.

The result: many like the elderly Bokul Chakraborty were stuck, on routes that are a breeze on other days.

“I have been here for half an hour but there are no autos. The government may be implementing the court’s order but we are the ones suffering,” said Chakraborty, in her 70s, trying to visit her daughter at Tiljala from Park Circus.

Mohammed Alauddin re- turned home from Bridge No. 4 after waiting in vain for a vehicle for over 30 minutes. “It’s been a waste of a day,” the trader said.

Around 350 autos ply on the route on other days, said an out-of-job driver.

“The cops were randomly checking all autos, including the green ones, for papers. So we didn’t dare to move out,” said Aftab Alam, whose vehicle runs on the Orient Row-Dharmatala route.

“Taxis are making a killing and the best option is to walk,” said Mousumi Bhattacharya, with her nine-year-old son Saptarshi, a student of Modern School in Park Circus.

The scenes were similar across the city, from Taratala to Tallah.

“If this is the situation on a weekend, I wonder what lies in store for us on a weekday,” said Sayantani Bhattacharya, who shelled out Rs 250 for a taxi that refused to go by the meter from Gariahat to her office in Sector V.

In the north, the key crossings donned the Sunday-afternoon look on Saturday morning. But Khanna was abuzz. The police were stopping all black-and-yellow autos plying from Ahiritola and Sovabazar to Ultadanga.

Commuters did not like the 10-15minute hold-up for the checking one bit but they had to bear it. “It takes half an hour to find an auto, then another 15 minutes are wasted on this. I’ll be almost an hour late,” said Pulin Roy, 30, a bank employee headed to his Salt Lake office.

Salt Lake, which has a fair number of green autos, kept moving. But reaching Salt Lake wasn’t easy from Ultadanga or Kankurgachhi.

Some missed trains at Howrah and Sealdah and outsiders got a nasty welcome to Calcutta.

Expecting trouble on the road, many left home early.

Subhas ‘critical’

Transport minister Subhas Chakraborty, who was hospitalised on Wednesday with respiratory distress, is still critical but responding to treatment, doctors said today.

AMRI Hospital, Salt Lake, said he was conscious and on a liquid diet.