Kolkata Bridge Collapse: Commuters get alternative road

Kolkata: An alternative road parallel to a bridge that collapsed over a month ago in south Kolkata was thrown open to the public on Friday, much to the relief of a large number of daily commuters to and from the city and its suburbs.

A portion of the Majerhat Bridge in south Kolkata collapsed on September 4, killing a city youth instantly and injuring at least 19 others. Two bodies of Metro rail workers were recovered from under the debris two days after the accident.

The new road along with two bailey bridges over the Chetla canal and railway level crossing were constructed within 20 days in close coordination between the Public Works Department (PWD) and Eastern Railway.

According to senior PWD officials, initially one-way movement of small and medium vehicles will be allowed on the road. The city police will take a call regarding both-way vehicular movements after the Durga Puja festivities.

"The bridge, along with the level-crossing, is connecting the southward extension of Alipore Avenue with Block G in New Alipore," an official said.

Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said that though the bridge collapse was an unfortunate incident, the Bengal government had shown that they can make the impossible possible.

Eastern Railway officials said train services on the Sealdah-Budge Budge line will be restricted to keep the level-crossing gate between New Alipore and Majerhat station operational.

"To ensure smooth road and rail movement, six pairs of EMU locals on the Sealdah-Budge Budge section will remain suspended from Saturday until further notice. Rest of the 52 locals (trains) will continue to ply with slight changes in schedule."