Traffic jam on Hospital Road
Commuters stepping out after 11 am faced severe travel disruptions amid flooded roads, vehicle breakdowns, a cave-in and a rally as did returning schoolchildren—many of them in the middle of their half-yearly exams—who got caught in the gridlock for hours. A KMC official said the presence of an 18-ft-high tide in the Hooghly worsened the situation in the afternoon. The worst-hit zone was an 11-km stretch between E M Bypass and Alipore and Majerhat, leading to severe traffic congestion on EM Bypass, Maa Flyover, DL Khan Road, Alipore Road and Burdwan Road.
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“We tried our best to operate heavy-duty pumps at all major drainage pumping stations but we couldn’t manage to flush out rainwater till late afternoon, given the intensity of the showers,” said the official. “It took me almost an hour just to clear the short stretch between Alipore and Majerhat,” said Subir Roy, an office-goer. “I waited for over 40 minutes for a bus or an app cab, but nothing was available,” said Snigdha Dutta, who was stranded near Esplanade.
commuters still faced hardship as the number of buses, autos and cabs dropped While traffic police claimed the situation improved rapidly once the rain subsided. A civic drainage department official conceded that the heavy spell of rain since morning posed a challenge for them even as their teams tried to flush out storm water from inundated neighbourhoods. The scene was similar from south to central Kolkata as vehicles navigated through waterlogged stretches of Jadavpur, Golf Green, Gariahat Road, Sarat Bose Road, Bhowanipore, Behala, Mominpore, Alipore, areas off EM Bypass, Camac Street, Thanthania, Amherst Street, Keshab Sen Street, C R Avenue and Beliaghata Main Road. “The roads were already battered by rain, and navigating through waterlogged patches near Mominpore was a nightmare. The breakdown of a state bus on Taratala flyover added to the chaos, as commute between Behala and Esplanade took two hours in the morning even as people questioned the absence of sergeants at key intersections of Mominpore, Ekbalpore and Hastings. Commuters descending the Hastings flyover encountered waterlogging on the down ramp, while C R Avenue, Amherst Street, Theatre Road and Waterloo Street lay completely inundated. Compounding the misery, a portion of Camac Street caved in, forcing police to restrict traffic to one flank, which in turn led to the slowing down of traffic. “Even the autos refused to go further in central Kolkata, given the waterlogging. Adding to the chaos, a citizens’ group’s rally from Ramlila Maidan towards Esplanade forced police to also restrict traffic on SN Banerjee Road in the morning, adding to jams. Download the TOI App.
Kolkata: Relentless rain over two days flooded several parts of the city on Wednesday, leading to jams and chaos on roads.
5 in the port division and in front of Uttirna and PTS. Extensive flooding was also reported at the foot of Baghajatin flyover, as well as across Alipore, Mominpore, Hastings, Thakurpukur, Woodburn Park Road, Hospital Road, Ashutosh Mukherjee Road, Justice Chandramadhav Road, Hastings Park Road, Burdwan Road, DH Road and areas near Gate No.