- Vehicles stopped on zebra crossings as the signal turned red
- Pedestrians waved their hands and walked across the roads while the signal was green for vehicles
- Buses stopped to pick up passengers
Almost no one followed traffic rules at the Gariahat crossing, one of the busiest crossroads in Kolkata, when this newspaper visited the spot on Wednesday afternoon.
The situation was made worse by hawkers, who have occupied pavements on four all sides of the Gariahat intersection, forcing pedestrians to walk through the roads, risking their lives.
Mayor Firhad Hakim had said on Friday, the day an eight-year-old boy was crushed under the wheels of a lorry in Behala while he and his father were walking across Diamond Harbour Road, that hawkers must leave 50 metres from all crossings.
But at the Gariahat intersection, like other crossroads in the city, the mayor’s order is flouted with impunity.
A goods vehicle stops on the zebra crossing on Rashbehari Avenue after the signal turned red at the Gariahat crossing on Wednesday.
A goods vehicle on the flank of Rashbehari Avenue through which vehicles move towards the Bypass stopped on a zebra crossing when the signal turned red. On the other flank, autorickshaws and cars were seen stopping on a zebra crossing.
Police have installed boom barriers at various points to prevent pedestrians from walking across roads when the signal is green for vehicles.
The ones at Gariahat were not serving their purpose on Wednesday afternoon, when The Telegraph visited the spot, as there were no police personnel to operate them.
As the boom barriers were not being operated, pedestrians waiting to walk across Rashbeheri Avenue from south to north stood on the carriageway, blocking half of one lane of the artery.
Not a minute passed when pedestrians were not waving their hands at approaching vehicles, signalling the drivers to slow down or stop so they could walk across the road.
Pedestrians were often seen running through the gap between two vehicles to cross the road. Some were talking on their mobile phones while making their way through passing vehicles.
Pedestrians cross Gariahat Road, at the Gariahat crossing, through gaps between moving vehicles on Wednesday afternoon. There were no police personnel to operate boom barriers.
Many autorickshaws suddenly slammed brakes to pick up passengers.
An officer of the South East Traffic Guard said the boom barriers are always operated, except during a brief period in the afternoon.
“The neighbourhood has a number of schools, where classes end for the day in the afternoon. Police personnel remain busy managing school traffic along with other vehicles, so there is no one to operate the boom barriers,” the officer said.
The officer said they have made space for pedestrians to walk on the carriageways at the crossing by installing guardrails. “Some hawkers had started to set up stalls there. We have removed them. Pedestrians, too, have to be more responsible and follow rules,” the officer said.
A bus stops almost in the middle of the Gariahat crossing to pick up passengers on Wednesday afternoon.
Souraneel Sarkar, the eight-year-old boy who died in the accident on Friday, and his father had started to cross Diamond Harbour Road when the signal was red for vehicles. But by the time they came close to the median divider, the signal turned green and vehicles starting moving.