The city police announced on Friday multiple curbs and restrictions on the movement of traffic in and around Park Street on New Year’s Eve and January 1.
Metro draws up a list of what you should know if you are headed in that direction or to any of the city’s party zones.
Traffic restrictions
Park Street will have one-way traffic from west to east until 2am on JanVehicles
Vehicles on a lit-up Park Street on Friday evening.
Shakespeare Sarani (Theatre Road), too, will be one-way from east to west between Chowringhee Road and AJC Bose Road till 2am on January 1.
Ho Chi Minh Sarani, Middleton Street, Little Russel Street, Russell Street and stretches of Camac Street will be turned into one-way thoroughfares on December 31 and January 1 as and when required.
Additional restrictions for vehicles can be placed around the following locations depending on the footfall on December 31 and January 1:
- Indian Museum
- Victoria Memorial
- Birla Planetarium
- Alipore zoo
- Paresh Nath Temple
- Kali Temple at Kalighat
- Thanthania Kalibari
- Lindsay Street, New Market
- Birla Temple on Ashutosh Chowdhury Avenue
- Millennium Park
Parking
No parking will be allowed on the following roads (as and when required on December 31 and January 1):
- Park Street
- Camac Street
- Free School Street
- Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road
- Wood Street
- Middleton Street
- Little Russel Street
- Kyd Street
- Russel Street
- Royed Street
Police checkposts
Kolkata police will set up multiple checkpoints across the major intersections of the city to stop and prosecute traffic violators.
An officer said the
focus would be to stop drink driving, make bikers ride with helmets and prevent rash driving.
Drink driving
Motorists may be stopped by the police for an alcohol test where the driver would be asked to blow into a breathalyser for a measure of the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream. If asked to do this, the test will be mandatory, said an officer.
According to Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act, any reading exceeding 30mg per 100ml attracts charges for drink driving. A person can be imprisoned for up to six months or asked to pay a fine of Rs 2,000 if alcohol exceeding 30mg per 100ml is detected in the bloodstream through a breathalyser. Second and subsequent offences can lead to imprisonment for two years or a fine of Rs 3,000. In case any demand of more than Rs 3,000 is made for the offence, the motorist can call dial 100 to report a complaint.
Cop advice
“We are encouraging bars and pubs to ensure that their customers do not drive when they leave,” said an officer of the traffic department. Kolkatans who wish to party on New Year’s Eve are advised to hire chauffeurs to avoid taking the wheel while returning
home.
Weather
The Alipore Met office has said that the city is set to experience a drop in temperature from the first day of the New Year when the northwesterly winds are likely to blow through the city again.
Easterly winds, which are keeping the city warm, will keep dominating till then, it said.