‘Kolkata Metro’s airport corridor stuck over traffic clearance issues’

Kolkata: Metro Railway Kolkata has said certain bottlenecks in Chingrighata stretch along EM Bypass are hampering the progress of the Orange Line, which will connect the southern part of the city with the airport.

The stretch, extending from Ruby Crossing (Hemanta Mukhopadhyay) to Biman Bandar (Airport), will link New Garia with the city airport.

Citing delays in securing permission for traffic diversion along EM Bypass in Chingrighata, a Metro Railway official said Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) has already constructed a diversion road through Captain Bheri and Dhapa Lock Pumping Station (DLPS) to Chingrighata.

This was done after multiple consultations with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and traffic department officials to facilitate segment

launching work, the official added. “After addressing all observations from the Traffic department regarding groundwork in this stretch, RVNL requested permission for night-time traffic diversion from February 3 to 12.

However, the Traffic department did not grant approval at the time,” the official told a news agency on Friday. “RVNL officials met the police commissioner on February 11, who assured them that permission would be granted within two days. They also approached the joint commissioner of police (Traffic) on February 12, requesting a no-objection certificate (NOC) for segment launching work. But the NOC has not been granted,” he regretted. Metro Railway general manager P Uday Kumar Reddy and minister Sujit Bose inspected the site with senior RVNL officials on February 16. They also held a meeting to resolve the issues and obtain the necessary permission for traffic diversion so that segment launching work can commence early, the official said.

“This work is crucial for completing the 366-metre viaduct on this stretch. To ensure smooth traffic flow and commuter safety during the work, RVNL has already committed to taking necessary precautions. However, unnecessary delays are hampering the progress of the Orange Line project,” he added.

The delay is prolonging the connectivity between Salt Lake and Rajarhat-New Town up to the airport (Jai Hind Bimanbandar) station from Kavi Subhash station via EM Bypass, he added. Segment launching work for Pier Nos. 317, 318 and 319 at Chingrighata Crossing has been stalled due to the lack of traffic diversion approval, which has been pending since last year.

A senior Kolkata Traffic Police official said the department is working toward a feasible solution that balances the need for smooth vehicular movement along the Chingrighata-Beleghata More-Metropolitan stretch on EM Bypass with the execution of the Metro project.“We want the Metro project to be completed in a time-bound manner, but we also have to ensure that vehicular traffic is not severely disrupted,” the official said.

Bose, who recently inspected the site with Metro officials and the local MLA, was unavailable for comments.