Parking along the Bypass-Prince Anwar Shah Road connector in southeast Kolkata has been allowed only on three stretches. The rest of the thoroughfare — between Avishikta on EM Bypass and Jadavapur police station — will be a no-parking zone, police said.
Police commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal issued a notification on Tuesday declaring the road — named after Prince Gulam Mohammed Anwar Ali Shah, one of Tipu Sultan’s 12 sons — as a no-parking zone, except for the three areas, “for the interest of public safety and convenience”.
Parking will be allowed between Calcutta Kidney Research Institute and Calcutta Love Presbyterian Church, between premises No. 42/9 Sahid Nagar and 39A Sahid Nagar (northern flank), and between 8/6 Sahid Nagar and 8/28 Sahid Nagar (northern flank), the notification read.
The order “comes into force with immediate effect”, the notification read.
“We will forward the details of these three stretches to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation so that they feature on the list of premises where parking is allowed,” said a senior police officer. “Later, the civic officials can introduce fee-parking on some stretches of the connector after consulting with us.”
Since its inauguration in March 2007, the Prince Anwar Shah Road connector used to be a quiet stretch with not much vehicular presence. There were several vacant plots on either side of the road, dotted with encroachers.
Over the years, the urban development department worked with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation towards removing encroachments, including makeshift garages, shops and even a few buildings that had come up in parts of Mondalpara and Sahidnagar, to create space for two-way traffic along the stretch.
“The last few years witnessed a rapid growth of urban space along this stretch. Several commercial establishments started operating out of this area and there was a spurt in the number of apartments and housing complexes,” said Supriya Dutta, a software developer who built a house on a three-cottah plot near Sahidnagar almost a decade back.
Officers of the Purba Jadavpur traffic guard said the situation had become such that vehicles would be left parked on either side of the connector for several hours and often perpendicular to the kerb. The resulting loss of road space was impeding traffic, they said.
“Motorists from Jadavpur and Lake Gardens prefer this stretch because the number of traffic signals are fewer compared with the Rashbehari connector,” said a senior officer of the traffic guard.
“Even those headed for Behala, New Alipore and Kalighat from EM Bypass prefer this stretch for the same reason.”
The connector used to be under the supervision of the Jadavpur traffic guard till the authorities realised that the traffic on the connector and its adjoining areas was growing exponentially and a separate traffic guard was needed. The Purba Jadavpur traffic guard was set up in 2019.
“A number of crossover points for pedestrians on this connector had to be either closed or shifted as the volume of traffic kept rising. At least three traffic beats have been created for this stretch where sergeants are stationed to oversee movement of vehicles,” said an officer.