‘State govt to form policy on trams’

Kolkata: The Transport department, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and the Kolkata Police are to jointly conduct a study on routes where trams could be operated and the ones which need to be removed for road safety in a bid to form a policy and submit it to the Calcutta High Court.

Addressing a Press conference, Firhad Hakim said that the court has instructed the state government to form a policy concerning where trams could be operated and routes which have become defunct. Accordingly, a meeting was held at KMC on Friday with the Transport department and the police where discussions focused on forming a sound policy.

Hakim said: “Trams are eco-friendly but in the modern times these have been largely replaced by the Metro rail system. Hence, the police have informed us that due to the defunct tram lines several accidents are taking place.”

“We discussed and figured out that for the sake of heritage, the Kidderpore-Esplanade route can be operated. Presently, there’s also the question of passenger safety. Earlier there used to be a specific area where passengers could deboard from the tram. In today’s time it has all become concrete roads paving the way for accidents,” Hakim said.

The Mayor said presently three tram routes in the city are operational — Ballygunge-Tollygunge, Gariahat to Manikatala and the other one at Esplanade to Shyambazar. These routes are however posing a threat to the safety of the commuters.

“We are trying to make the route from Kidderpore to Esplanade operational. This is much safer for both road traffic and pedestrians and the commuters,” he remarked.

Transport minister Snehashish Chakraborty said: “We are going to form a comprehensive policy. In 1873, in India, trams were operational in at least 15 cities, including Kolkata. Today, other than Kolkata, no other cities are running trams. Road safety and congestion were major issues. Traffic police have flagged concerns surrounding road safety. We will soon inform the court where we can operate trams and where we cannot.”

He added that defunct tram lines need to be covered with pitch to avoid road accidents during monsoon.