Chief minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the state transport minister on Thursday for not having enough buses on the roads and said the department
had turned “silent”, suggesting that it had stopped doing its job.

She instructed the minister, Snehasis Chakraborty, to personally tour the city
and understand the plight of the commuters dependent on public transport and rebuked him when he said the frequency of some buses had increased.

“Transport department silent department hoye gyachhey (the transport department has become silent). Many people wait on the roads. I frequently get to see that,” Mamata said while addressing a review meeting at Nabanna.

In attendance were her cabinet colleagues and senior bureaucrats, led by the state’s chief secretary.

“Have you ever surveyed to find out where people wait the most after office and whether the frequency of buses can be increased?” Mamata asked the minister. “If the frequency is increased, they can commute better.”

Metro published a report in Thursday’s edition that Calcuttans want better public transport and more buses at night in the new year.

Buses on most routes are far fewer compared with the number of commuters. The count drops further after 9pm and hardly any can be spotted after 10.30.

Calcuttans have to depend on expensive and often unreliable cabs for their everyday commute.

“Has the minister ever made surprise visits to some of the places in Calcutta? Has the transport secretary seen them?” Mamata asked.

“Didi aamra frequency bariyechhi kichhu (Didi, we have increased the frequency to some extent),” the minister replied.

“Kichhu? Kichhu kothar artha ki? Kichhu kothar kono ortho hoy na (Some? What is the meaning of the word ‘some’? ‘Some’ doesn’t mean anything),” Mamata said, visibly angry.

“You are the transport minister. It has to be ensured that people get buses while going to work or returning home.”