Illegal auto stand chokes underpass

KOLKATA: The encroachment of the entry and exit points of an underpass, adjacent to one of the most bustling railway sta tions of the city , to set up an illegal auto stand and makeshift parking lot is causing massive traffic jams, inconveniencing thousands of commuters.
The entry and exit of the un derpass of Dum Dum station have been almost occupied by the autos that run on the Dum Dum-Nagerbazar route, and even by taxis and other vehicles that have started using portions of the subway , including its en trance, during peak hours.This leaves little roadspace for com muters, resulting in huge traffic jams. Despite several com plaints, the South Dum Dum municipal authorities have al legedly not initiated measures to remove this encroachment.
The underpass was con structed on the northern side of Dum Dum station to ease con gestion near the station. After getting down from trains or the Metro, commuters to Nagerba zar have to take this road.
More than 500 autos run on the Dum Dum-Nagerbazar route. “The entrance or exit points are used as an auto stand,“ said Sudipta Mukherjee, a local trader. “The hun dreds of commuters who have to take autos also use the underpass, worsening the traffic congestion there and in adjoining areas. Several taxis, private cars, motorbikes and rickshaws have also lately started using the walkway for parking.This causes jams daily .“
Schoolteacher Bhaskar Majumdar, a resident of Nimta, said: “I take a train from Belghoria station, which takes barely three or four minutes to take me to Dum Dum. But I have to take an auto to Nagerbazar after standing in a huge queue in the underpass. I am forced to take the auto from the congested road as all the autos to Nagerbazar start from the subway .“
The auto drivers claimed they are “forced“ to park their autos in the underpass, in the absence of a stand. A driver said: “There is no auto stand.We asked the civic body for an alternative auto stand, but in vain. Later, union leaders asked us to park our autos here.“
A chairman-in council member in the traffic department of South Dum Dum municipality said: “Four civic volunteers are posted to ease congestion in the underpass. The auto stand will be shifted elsewhere immediately .“