Post Behala accident case, SJDA begins taking precautionary measures

Siliguri: Days after a class II student died in a road accident in Kolkata’s Behala, the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) has come up with a number of preventive measures. On Tuesday, Sourav Chakraborty, Chairman, SJDA, visited different schools in Siliguri to take stock of security and traffic arrangements.

“The safety of students is a priority for us. We are planning to provide guard rails which will be placed in front of schools to control the speed of vehicles, especially during school hours. We will also build speed breakers in front of schools which are situated near main roads,” said Sourav Chakraborty.

A Class II student, on his way to school, died after being hit by a lorry in Behala, on Friday. To ensure such accidents do not occur in Siliguri, the SJDA chairman has decided to step in. On Tuesday, the chairman visited Terai Tarapada Adarsh Vidyalaya, Don Bosco School and a few other areas.

He assured the Siliguri police commissionerate of all possible assistance to ensure the safety and security of the students of all schools in the city. “I had a talk with the commissioner of police and asked the police to prepare a report on traffic in front of schools which are situated near main roads and highways. We will provide about 100 barricades which will be placed on the roads in a zigzag way during school hours. After school hours, they will be removed,” the chairman added.

There are a total of 180 schools in the city and of which about 75 are situated near main roads and highways.

Apart from this, the SJDA will install 112 bullet cameras on the road from Shalugara to Burdwan.

The chairman also informed that the SJDA will start a ‘talk to chairman’ programme on phone call. The programme will commence on August 15, and every Tuesday, Chakraborty will talk to people over the phone from 2:30-4 pm and will listen to their grievances.

The programme was kicked off one year ago online through WhatsApp. About 3,700 complaints were placed to the SJDA by people during the last one year. Now, people can directly call the chairman and submit their complaints on the

number 8293335505.