Transport dept rolls out Puja spls: Night buses, shopping services & Parikrama tours

Kolkata: The state Transport department on Wednesday announced shopping special buses, night services and Puja Parikrama packages for the upcoming Durga Puja.

Transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty said shopping specials from Sealdah and Howrah stations will begin two weeks before the festival, while all-night bus services for pandal-hoppers will operate from Panchami. The West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) will also run Puja Parikrama tours on Puja days, covering Bonedi family homes, leading community pujas and suburban heritage sites.

Nearly 25 shopping specials will connect suburban and rural commuters to popular markets such as New Market, Gariahat and Hatibagan. The night services, introduced last year, will again link Howrah, Sealdah and Barasat.

For Puja Parikrama, two Bonedi family tours have been planned, one from Esplanade, covering Sovabazar Rajbari, Rani Rashmoni’s residence, Behala Ray Bari and others, and another from Barasat, covering the Kabiraj Sen family, Jorasanko Dey Bari and Thantania Dutta Bari. Fares range from Rs. 2,200 to Rs 2,300 for adults, with concessions for children. Community Puja tours will include Ekdalia, Singhi Park, Mudiali and Bagbazar Sarbojanin. Non-AC packages are priced between Rs. 500 and Rs. 700, while AC packages cost Rs 2,200-Rs 2,300. A combined water-and-road tour priced at Rs 900 will take visitors to North Kolkata pujas by launch and AC bus.

Suburban tours will cover Dhannyakuria and Arbelia near Basirhat, noted for their European-style architecture, on Saptami, Ashtami and Navami, at Rs 2,200 per person. Executive buses on Mahashtami will travel to Jairambati and Kamarpukur from Esplanade and Barasat, priced between Rs 800 and Rs 900.

Each bus or launch will carry a guide and first-aid kit. Last year, WBTC earned around Rs 22 to Rs 23 lakh from three days of Puja Parikrama.

Trams, however, remain excluded from the packages. Chakraborty reiterated that only one heritage loop between Esplanade and Maidan would be preserved. “Other tram lines should be removed as smaller vehicles skid on tracks during monsoon. The matter is sub judice and further steps will depend on the court’s order,” he said. Referring to the newly opened 2.45 km Sealdah–Esplanade Metro link, which has cut travel time between Howrah and Sealdah to 11 minutes, the minister added: “We will watch passenger flow over the next week to 10 days. Based on that, we may realign or reduce bus services. Where Metro connectivity is absent, we will explore making bus routes Metro-centric.”