At 2pm on Monday, just about 16 vehicles, mostly small cars and a lone state bus, crossed the Gariahat intersection in south Kolkata towards Rashbehari from the Bijon Setu when the lights turned green.
On a usual afternoon, the number of vehicles on the same stretch would be close to 50, traffic police in the area said.
The streets of Kolkata looked even more deserted because schools and colleges have shut down because of the heat.
The characteristic rows of vehicles at traffic signals on some of the city’s ever-busy intersections were missing.
“The Ballygunge Phari intersection was clearly visible from the ITI crossing around 1.45pm. There were so few cars that it reminded us of the pandemic-induced lockdown days,” said a senior police officer.
Over the past few days, as the mercury has crept up, the vehicle count has dropped after 11.30am.
On Monday, across most “traffic beats”, officers on duty said the morning peak hour was over by 11am.
Diamond Harbour Road, APC Road, EM Bypass, Hatibagan... An officer at Lalbazar went on and on when asked to name some of the thoroughfares where traffic was sparse.
On Ultadanga Main Road, officers usually have to coordinate with Lake Town police to ensure vehicles move faster and there are no bottle-necks near the railway station. On Monday, there was no need to coordinate.
Passengers, autos, cars and buses were so few that there was no need to coordinate with the Lake Town police, officers said. Close to 30 per cent of private buses and about 40 per cent of blue and white cabs stayed off the roads during the day.
Monday’s insufferable heat and fewer passengers on the roads prompted bus operators across several routes not to bring out their vehicles even in the evening.
“Most bus owners have been opting to start early, by 6am. By noon, they stop making trips. The drivers and conductors have been complaining about the heat and lack of passengers,” said Pradip Narayan Bose of the West Bengal Bus and Minibus Owners Association. “The number of minibuses and buses dropped by about 30 per cent on Monday.”
App-cab drivers said they chose to remain logged out of their platforms between noon and 5pm “to avoid heat stroke”.
Unlike other times, fewer passengers did not mean a surge in price, they said.
“I have been starting around 6.30am so that by noon I am back home. My car’s air-conditioning is not up to the mark,” said Uday Giri, an app-cab driver.
“Even if I operate from evening to 10pm again, I can cover only around 65 per cent of the target.”
Autorickshaw drivers on the Ruby-Gariahat, Rajdanga-Aleya and Kasba-Dakshinapan routes said there weren’t enough passengers to justify shuttling around after 11.30am.
Sellers of curd and lassi did brisk business. “We sold around 100 kilos of lassi over the last two days,” said Nilanjan Ghosh of Mithai sweet shop near Park Circus. “This is something we have never witnessed. Usually around this time we sell around 50 kilos of lassi.”
