Rs 112 crore state-of-the-art logistic hub & truck terminal to come up at Serampore

The state government has given clearance to set up a state-of-the-art logistic hub-cum-truck terminal at Serampore.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 111.683 crore and it will come up on 143.53 acre of land with the hub being built by the Calcutta Goods Transport Association (CGTA).

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced the project at the Bengal Global Business Summit last year and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the representatives of the CGTA and the state transport department headed by its Principal Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay.

Accordingly, the CGTA gave a Detailed Project Report (DPR)to the transport department in June 2016. Bandyopadhyay along with senior officials of the department carefully studied the DPR and then sent it to the state government for clearance.

Understandably, there are four main reasons behind setting up of the logistic hub — decongestion of the Central Business District (CBD), improvement in the operational efficiency of the city roads, reduction in pollution and environmental degradation and improvement of the safety standards on the CBD by relocation of non-confirming activities.

Bandyopadhyay said on completion, the perennial traffic congestion at Burrabazar would be a matter of the past. Moreover, the containers, multi-axel vehicles and trailers that are parked along the national highways would be parked in the hub, thus, reducing chances of road accidents. This would be a major step in the Safe Life Save Drive programme that was earlier announced by the Chief Minister.

It may be recalled that after Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee was injured in a road accident in October last year, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had asked the police authorities to take up the matter with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and ensure that long axel vehicles were not parked along the speedy highways. Though there was initial vigil by the police, the old scenario prevails now.

A study conducted by the CGTA stated that Burrabazar was highly vulnerable from environmental point of view because of ineffective management of solid wastes generated in the area. Composition of the solid waste generated indicates presence of high organic content, mostly from fruits, vegetables and other perishable commodities. "Foul smell due to decomposition of organic content, littering of waste by scavenging birds and animals along with improper collection, storage and transfer mechanism cause unhygienic and a polluted environment."

The study reveals that goods vehicles enter Burrabazar mainly through three major points causing massive traffic congestion in the area. Heavy duty trucks are parked on narrow lanes and bylanes and the loaders take several hours to load and unload them. Once the logistic hub is constructed, heavy trucks will be parked there and small trucks will be used to carry goods to the wholesale markets causing much less traffic in city.

The hub will also provide job opportunities to local youth in the training centre, medical centre and in other amenities. The study points out that with the introduction of the GST in the near future, it is expected that warehousing shall emerge as a huge investment and business potential.

The hub will have storage and warehousing, long-axle truck parking and allied amenities, auto workshops, administrative buildings, fire stations, post offices along with police check posts.

Weigh bridge and truck parking areas, skill development centres, fuel stations, commercial complexes, common driver dormitory and administrative office complex (CGTA) tower will also be incorporated.