Monsoon traffic chaos worsens in kolkata due to rallies school reopening and rain
Times of India | 18 June 2025
Kolkata: Traffic snarls are back in the city with the onset of monsoons, the first working day on Monday morning witnessing one of the worst slow movements of traffic in recent weeks. Cops attributed multiple reasons behind this – general slowing down of vehicles due to rains, four political rallies in the heart of the city, and, most importantly, several schools reopening after the summer break. The major problems were identified as AJC Bose Road, Theatre Road, Sarat Bose Road, ATM Road and Ballygunge Circular Road.The problem began as early as 7:45 am and took almost an hour to settle. The initial office time traffic was smoother before another round of rallies – and schools getting over – yet again hit traffic between Esplanade and Exide-PTS and then again on the Maa flyover with a spillover effect on EM Bypass. As a result, traffic was diverted from Exide Crossing off and on, and diversions took place from CR Avenue and JL Nehru Road. This was especially after rallies converged at Dorina Crossing.However, what came as the biggest stumbling block in central Kolkata was a rally led by mid-day meal workers that blocked the Lenin Sarani-CR Avenue Crossing and then moved towards Esplanade. Worse, it came at a time when the dispersal of schools was taking place on AJC Bose Road. "There came a time when the procession was entering the SN Banerjee Road from Moulali and the schools began dispersals. As such, the tail from Mullickbazar reached Moulali," said a DCP. Several roads adjoining this stretch were affected too.The cops even put up a traffic advisory. "Due to dispersal from schools, traffic is slow on the following roads: ATM Road, Sarat Bose Road, Chakraberia Road, Elgin Road, and AJC Bose Road," the cops stated. "The school gates got clogged with a much higher number of privately owned two-wheeler and four-wheeler vehicles," said an officer from East Traffic Guard. Cops said it was not before 3:30 pm that traffic police could normalise the situation.Traffic was also slow in the morning between Mominpore and Ekbalpore due to Metro construction at Mominpore (waterlogging slowing down traffic). "We usually turn DH Road one way (moving from Majerhat to Mominpore) in the morning. But with Burdwan Road nearly shut due to the bus breakdown, the plan had to be changed. This clogged the DH Road which in turn – due to school movement – clogged Alipore Road and Kolkata Zoo approach roads," explained a traffic officer.The cops stated that they were forced to turn off automated signalling at multiple crossings and instead follow the manual mode around PTS. "Whenever the rain stops, we witness a jump in vehicles. In contrast, there is a sharp drop in vehicles, especially two-wheelers, whenever it rains. As such, on a day like Monday – when the rains came and went – the traffic was hit severely," explained a cop.The Kolkata Traffic Police said that multiple measures were planned to counter the increasing number of breakdowns. "We set up new cut-outs to place broken-down vehicles. Yet, it takes time to remove the broken-down cars. Thus, now we are helping KMDA clean up the road in the wee hours of the morning to remove all nails and other items from the road that can lead to punctures. This exercise will be done regularly from now," said an officer from the east guard. WBTC was especially asked to create breakdown repair teams and station them across the city rather than depend on particular WBTC depots.BOX:- Heavy traffic snarls hit Kolkata on Monday, the first working day of the monsoon season.- Multiple factors contributed to congestion:- Monsoon rains- Four political rallies in the city centre- Schools reopening after summer break- Vehicles seeking shelter under flyovers- Key affected areas:- AJC Bose Road- Theatre Road- Ballygunge Circular Road- Sarat Bose Road- ATM Road- Traffic disruptions from 7:45 am to 8:45 am and again from 2 pm to 3:30 pm were the worst.- Police measures implemented:- Manual traffic control replacing automated signals- New breakdown management system- WBTC directed to station repair teams citywide MSID:: 121910194 413 |