Passengers alighting from buses around the Parama rotary on EM Bypass are now being channelled towards a sparingly used subway in a drive by police to stop jaywalking across the eastern thoroughfare and reduce accidents.
Almost a decade back, Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) had built an underpass at the Parama rotary for pedestrians to cross the busy EM Bypass. The underpass has two corridors — one for pedestrians going from Science City to Energy Park and vice-versa and the other that connects Science City and Milan Mela.
Like several foot overbridges, including the ones at Gariahat, at Ultadanga, and many underpasses across Kolkata, the subway at Parama, too, has failed to attract pedestrians. Daily commuters prefer to walk across the Bypass at the risk of inviting accidents, some of which have turned fatal for years now.
In the latest initiative, the police have deployed personnel who are trying to ensure that buses stop only at designated stops on both flanks of the eastern corridor. Passengers are then being directed to the gates leading to the underpass.
On the eastern side, near PC Chandra Gardens, passengers alighting at the bus stop are being channelled towards one of the gates of the underpass that opens to Science City.
“We are trying to bring down the tendency of passengers to jaywalk and put the underpass to proper use,” said a senior police officer.
“Reducing pedestrian crossovers would also bring down the number of accidents on this part of the Bypass.”
The Parama rotary is among the busiest intersections on the Bypass that witnesses heavy cross-overs throughout the day.
Senior police officers have realised that instead of prosecuting jaywalkers, a better way to stop pedestrian movement is to force the crowd to take the underpass at places where they exist, like the one at Parama.
A list of officers, constables and civic volunteers has been drawn up shift-wise for the job, which officers admit is not easy.
Except for peak hours in the morning and evening, most commuters have continued to cross the Bypass in the absence of adequate police personnel.
“Permanent channels will have to be set up so that passengers have no other option but to enter the underpass,” the officer said.
Commuters said the underpass has too many stairs and heavy showers leave it inundated.
“There aren’t any escalators. So, those with joint pains will avoid using it. They would wait for the police to move away and then cross the road,” said Pritam Banerjee, a Santoshpur resident and a regular at the Parama rotary for his office commute.