A problem that was taken to court last year — lack of connectivity to central Kolkata by public transport due to illegal action of bus owners— continues to plague residents of Salt Lake. The high court has stepped in to provide redress but commuters complain that the slight change effected by the bus operators is an eyewash to pay lip service to the end-January order, with the basic problem remaining unsolved.
“Buses on the route 71 — from Howrah Maidan to Salt Lake — used to drive by our hostel in BF Block in Salt Lake and went directly to MG Road, close to our university. We want them to continue on the route,” said a Presidency University student, not wanting to be named.
A notice, dated February 23, has now been sent to each bus owner on route 71 conveying a decision of a board meeting of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA), asking the buses to cover the entire route till Sector V.
Years before the lockdown, route 71 buses started getting terminated near the Rajabazar tram depot, depriving Salt Lake residents altogether. The route permitted by the RTA starts from Mahishbathan and connects with Howrah Maidan via Karunamoyee, Bikash Bhawan, Baisakhi, Hudco More, Kankurgachhi, Bagmari, Maniktala, Sealdah, College Street, MG Road, Burrabazar, Bankim Setu and Howrah station.
Route 71 buses, workers of route 215A told The Telegraph Salt Lake, used to terminate in Sector V and be parked on a road by a waterbody near the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board. “That was when they used to have their terminus here. But now the police have made the road one way. We hear they stand at Rajabazar. In case they want to return to our terminus, we don’t know where they will find space,” said Dulal Das, a bus worker for 28 years.
Some years ago, the route 71 bus owners sought permission from the RTA board to terminate the buses at Rajabazar, claiming that the Salt Lake part of the route was unviable.
“A trip to Sector V would cost Rs 300-400 in fuel and running cost while we sold tickets worth about Rs 500. Diesel costs close to Rs 92.46 a litre now but ticket prices have not been revised by the government since June 2018. So what is the owner’s profit if he makes barely Rs 100 at the end of the day? And if we are slapped with traffic rule violation cases, so high are the charges that even that slender profit would get wiped off,” argued a driver on route 71 who did not want to be named, after parking his bus at Rajabazar under a pedestrian overbridge. A bus owner who was contacted by The Telegraph Salt Lake avoided conversation.
The RTO board had refused them permission to terminate midway, after which they took the matter to court in 2022. In an order dated, August 29, 2023, Justice Suvra Ghosh directed them to run half their fleet strength till Salt Lake and allowed the other half to terminate at Rajabazar.
But a public interest litigation was also filed by one Debabrata Biswas last November that was heard by the division bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya. Their verdict, dated January 18, 2024, has directed all buses on the route to reach till Sector V and ordered a surprise inspection to ensure the entire route was being covered.
An RTA official said such an inspection in early February found that the order was being violated. “We have served them a showcause notice,” he said. In the meantime, faced with conflicting orders from the court, the RTA has decided to file a review petition, seeking to know whether to direct the entire fleet to cover the entire route or half the fleet to do so. When The Telegraph Salt Lake visited the Rajabazar terminus on Tuesday, three buses on route 71 were parked there. Workers of the route 21/1, which legitimately terminates there, complained of what they deem to be an intrusion.
The time-keeper of route 71 claimed that the buses parked there only on Monday and Tuesday as the police did not allow them to park in the area adjoining the shut Bangabasi cinema, because of the Tuesday (Mangala) haat.
Traffic police officers at Howrah Maidan refuted the claim. “On the contrary, all buses, even if they are short of hands on other days, never lack workers on Tuesday duty as they know they can earn extra by carrying goods of sellers returning from the haat,” laughed an officer.
The cops are aware of the problem of route 71 terminating the route mid-way. “We have filed reports on the situation but it is not within our power to fine them as they are abiding by the law on our side of the route. They are in the wrong on the other side which is outside our jurisdiction,” the traffic officer said, adding that two or three such Howrah routes resorted to termination illegally to maximise profits.
Tito Saha, general secretary of Suburban Bus Service, a bus owners’ association, pointed out that Howrah to Sealdah has traditionally been a lucrative stretch. “Earlier so were Dalhousie and Esplanade but somehow the passenger load has decreased in those belts but not so from Howrah to Sealdah. Till the East West Metro starts, creating a possible dent in business, bus owners with routes covering this stretch will try to milk it,” Saha said.
But traffic police officials at Howrah Maidan are unhappy with this practice of short termination as it resulted in congestion in the area. “The route 71 buses cover the 3km stretch in barely 15-20 minutes and come back in no time. Had they covered their full route till Sector V, the traffic load would have been less on our area,” he said.
The biggest sufferers are commuters to and from Salt Lake. “Route 71, that is supposed to touch Tank 8 Island, Karunamoyee, PNB, Sealdah, College Street, Burrabazar and Howrah does not even enter Salt Lake anymore. The board on the bus says Salt Lake but they make a U-turn from Sealdah and return to Howrah. It used to be a frequent and convenient bus, with one every five to 10 minutes. But we haven’t seen it for the last six or seven years. Our lifeline is now the 215A,” said Bishnu Das of AJ Block.
“Route 71 is very important to us in Sector IV as also to residents of Action Area I and II. Who knows when East-West Metro will start? Till then, this is our link to Howrah,” said Abhinaba Paul, a resident of Sukantanagar.
After the court verdict, the bus has started touching Salt Lake from January 31 but only just. “We have 42 buses. Of them, 21 come to Salt Lake and make a U-turn at PNB island. So every bus gets to terminate at Rajabazar and Salt Lake on alternate days,” said a driver, admitting that they do not travel all the way to Sector V anymore.
The Telegraph Salt Lake spotted a couple of route 71 buses at PNB late in the afternoon on Wednesday. “Our buses come to Salt Lake from 10am to 5pm,” the route’s time-keeper, who sits at the PNB crossing, said.
A bus conductor alleged that there were hardly any passengers after Rajabazar ever since they have started touching PNB island a month ago. “I had just one passenger on the way in and none on the way back,” he complained, adding that it would take at least six months of regular service for commuters to become used to the route again.
Abhinaba countered that the buses were hardly keen to take Salt Lake passengers. “The only day when I spotted a route 71 bus in recent times, the conductor was sitting inside chatting with the driver. That’s no way to attract passengers!” he said.
“And who will keep count of how many buses are actually coming to Salt Lake — two or 20? And they are still flouting the court order if they are not going to Sector V,” shrugged a traffic police officer, on hearing of the arrangement. The passenger load along First Avenue is now being borne by buses on 215A. Their route is largely similar to route 71 — College More, Karunamoyee, Baisakhi, Hudco More, Ultadanga station, Gouribari, Hatibagan, Sovabazar, Ahiritola, Barabazar and Howrah station. Though there are close to 70 buses on the route which start every six minutes from Sector V, during office hours they get extremely crowded. “We see people hanging on at the door for dear life when the 215A buses pass by. We often discuss that an accident is waiting to happen,” said a conductor on route 206 which has its depot on the route of the 215A buses, in AJ Block. Route 71 used to share a part of this load.
The RTA official said the biggest punitive measure they are empowered to take is the cancellation of a bus permit. “But before that, we are trying to make them comply with the latest court order by sending them a notice while we seek a clarification from the court through our review petition,” he said. The notice, dated February 23, has been sent to each bus owner on route 71 conveying a decision of a board meeting on February 12, asking all the buses to cover the entire route till Sector V.