Strand Bank Road: A forgotten stretch, now north-central lifeline

KOLKATA: At a time when smooth, jam-less commute in the city is almost an unthinkable proposition, the traffic police have unearthed an almost-forgotten stretch from north Kolkata that ensures a seamless drive from Bagbazar to Howrah station or Dalhousie in 21minutes flat.
It takes an hour or more to travel the same distance, if one takes Central Avenue. TOI took adrive down Strand Bank Road, which runs parallel to Strand Road, from Bagbazar to Armenian Ghat, along the Hooghly .Pointing out that the stretch had emerged even more helpful after the collapse of the Vivekananda Road flyover, additional commissioner (I) Vineet Goyal said, “The road had somehow vanished from our mindscape.It was mostly used to park trucks for Posta and Burrabazar.But after the collapse of the Vivekananda Road flyover, we were desperately looking for an alternative route for faster dispersal of Howrah-bound traffic from the north. Strand Bank Road has not only turned out to be an easy drive to Howrah from north Kolkata but it also takes a lot of load off Central Avenue.“
With the Lock Gate flyover near Bagbazar remaining open to south-bound traffic till 1pm, commuters from further north can seamlessly travel to Howrah even during the morning peak hours, availing the elevated corridor onto the Strand Bank Road and then taking the stretch below Howrah Bridge, past the Jagannath flower market to finally reach the north-bound Strand Road. “It takes 3 minutes from Armenian Ghat to Howrah Station,“ said a sergeant.
After a feasibility survey to open the stretch to traffic, Jorabagan traffic guard OC Alok Sanyal and Burrabazar traffic guard OC Raj Kumar Singh, along with their teams, worked hard to clear Strand Bank Road of the parked trucks but it was not an easy task. “Besides parking, the Jagannath Ghat flower market was virtually being run on the road. We pushed them behind and put up barricades,“ said an officer. The police have also put up detailed sign-boards, diverting the Howrah-bound traffic from Chitpore Road to Strand Bank Road via Durga Charan Banerjee Road.
Strand Bank Road and Strand Road complement each other. While Strand Road is northbound, Strand Bank Road allows traffic on the opposite direction. “So, it is not difficult to reach any point, using the parallel stretches,“ said a sergeant.
There are a few bottlenecks, though. On Monday , Bhootnath temple creates a stumbling blocks with a huge surge of devotees. On Wednesday , crowds gather at the flower market and in the evening, the wait at the railway level crossing near Armenian Ghat can get long. “The bottlenecks together may take up 8-10 minutes. But the total travel time will not exceed 30 minutes,“ said an officer.