Eastward ho! Clamour for Sector 5, New Town bus routes reflects shift in Kolkata's centre of gravity
Times of India | 11 August 2025
KOLKATA: The city's business nerve centre has had a shift. With bus operators making a beeline to ply to Salt Lake Sector 5 and New Town, instead of the once-favourite Esplanade-BBD Bag central business district, it seems that the centre of gravity has shifted to the eastern fringes. Sector 5 and New Town also happen to be information technology hubs. Sector 5 alone has a passenger count in excess of one lakh.
Among the older routes seeking a change of alignment are 223 (BT College-Golf Green) and 240 (Jadavpur-Bagbazar). Both want an EM Bypass-Sector V-New Town variant with proposals to operate these buses as 223/1 and 240/1. Two other bus routes - 46A and 3D - also want an alignment change. All new routes floated in the past year, including those revived, like routes 3 and 30B/1, have included Sector 5 in their scheme of things. This comes at a time when most city bus routes are becoming unviable due to rising operating costs and non-revision of old fares.
"The success of the Kolkata Station-Shapoorji route (via Shyambazar-Baguiati) and Seoraphuli-Karunamoyee (5 AC buses) prompted other operators to view the demand for commute in Sector 5 and New Town with interest. Many have also been demanding a revival of other routes like Ramrajatala-Rajabazar, Tikiapara-Salt Lake and Japani Gate-Salt Lake," said City Suburban Bus Service's Titu Saha.
Recent Infosys operations have triggered development of at least two routes, Saha said, explaining that the rise in demand may have stemmed from permit restrictions in central Kolkata, Babughat and How-rah due to congestion.
"Sector 5 is seeing growth in business with new offices coming up much beyond its centre, resulting in increasing demand for public transport. Traffic has become a concern in the area and more buses with proper planning might actually be an way out of this," said Sector 5 Stakeholders Association vice-president Kalyan Kar.‘Office hubs in Kollack adequate space’People working in Sector 5 and New Town feel several factors have led to this shift in centre of gravity. “Rapid expansion of the city, unavailability of adequate office space in central Kolkata, and improved amenities available at an affordable rate are all helping in having this eastward growth,” said Tamal Pal, a real estate sector facility management executive.“Sector V has already established itself as the state’s showpiece IT hub and New Town is also fast developing as the next IT destination. This growth along with exhausted space in the city’s office hubs has shifted the centre of gravity from central Kolkata to Sector 5 and New Town. It is imperative that the area’s transport requirements are met, which will be affordable for all sections of society,” said bank executive Koushik Chatterjee.
Another Sector 5 employee, Tathagata Mukherjee, felt that road infrastructure needs to be looked at so that the area could support its traffic load.