Palash Epaper
Palash Epaper
METRO
Eviction drive clears road for Bypass expansion, work picks up speed
SUBHAJOY ROY
It takes Priyanshi Durbha almost 40 minutes to reach the Ruby rotary from Udita Housing Complex in Ajaynagar, where she stays, during the morning rush hour. But there is relief in sight for the Presidency University student with the stretch between Ajaynagar and Patuli cleared of encroachments and the EM Bypass widening project getting a boost. If this project actually succeeds in decongesting the Bypass, it will be of great help to commuters, Durbha said. It takes me almost 40 minutes to reach Ruby on way to the university I hope . that vehicles move faster once the project is complete. The plan is to build dedicated lanes for buses and other vehicles on the Bypass. The Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) is already operational in cities such as Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Jaipur. The idea is to decongest the entire 15.5km Bypass. Private vehicles will no longer need to wait as a bus picks up passengers. Buses too will be able to ply faster as they will have dedicated lanes, said Vivek Bharadwaj, the chief executive officer of the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA). Besides pavements for pedestrians, a green zone and a cycle track are also on the anvil. Bharadwaj admitted that last months eviction drive between Ajaynagar and Patuli had helped step up work. Its a step ahead for us. We will finish the landfilling for building the new roads before monsoon. That will allow the earth to settle during the rains, he said. A team of CMDA officials and police bulldozed about 1,500 shops and stalls along the Bypass near Patuli on March 23, thus clearing the way for landfilling. Landfilling started from the Metropolitan area last year but progress had been slow. There are several stretches between Metropolitan and Dhalai bridge where we could not work because of encroachments, a CMDA official said. Shops lining both flanks of the road between Ajayna-
A match between two colleges at Deshapriya Park on Friday Picture by Bishwarup Dutta .
The cruel April sun has not sapped the enthusiasm for cricket among city students, who padded up and took guard for the Unnayan Inter College Premier League that began on Friday . Presented in association with t2, the tournament will see 16 teams from as many colleges and universities in and around Calcutta, including Heritage college, Scottish Church College, Barasat University and Visva-Bharati, compete for the crown. What we want to do through the league is promote the sport and encourage sportsmanship among youth, said Pulak Das, CEO of the league committee. The tournament opened at Deshapriya Park with a cracker of a contest between the Eastern Institute of Integrated Learning in Management and Budge Budge Institute of Technology . Both teams were raring to go despite the uncomfortable weather. A little heat is nothing. We will try our hardest and hopefully make it to the finals this year, said Sharad Gupta, the captain of the Eastern Institute team. The toss was conducted by chief guest Snehasish Ganguly, former Bengal player and Sourav Gangulys elder brother. Budge Budge Institute won and elected to field. Eastern Institute put up 141 runs on the scoreboard losing nine wickets. Budge Budge Institute of Technology was all out for 89. This is a wonderful attempt to encourage the sport. Cricket has changed from when we used to play and there werent many college-level tournaments. It is a great boost to the youngsters, said Ganguly . In the second match of the day Rabindra Bharati University , scored 195 runs in 18 overs to beat Serampore College, which was bundled out for 53. Like the last two years, the first round of knockout matches in the tournament will be followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final. There are plans to introduce league matches in the future. The response has been wonderful. We had over 40 colleges registering to participate in the tournament but could only accommodate 16 on a first-come-first-served basis, said Das. The organisers also conducted a signature campaign to wish Team Indias World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh a speedy recovery from cancer. About 16,000 signatures were collected in three days, including one by state sports minister Madan Mitra, who was at Deshapriya Park on Friday The final of the tournament . will be held at Deshapriya Park on April 29.
Makeshift stalls selling everything from fruits and vegetables to tea on both flanks of the EM Bypass from the Ruby crossing to Patuli had halted work on widening the road. An eviction drive along the stretch between Ajaynagar and Patuli has renewed hope for an end to congestion
gar and Patuli stalled work and the landfilling could not proceed further south. Work has resume after the recent eviction. It will need another 18 months for the BRTS to get running. After landfilling, several layers will be added before the bituminous covering is done, said a senior CMDA official. The BRTS was supposed to be functional from December 2011 but work was delayed because of several hurdles. The first speedbreaker came in the form of a disagreement between agencies regarding the location of the bus track. It had been planned that the bus lanes would be on the two sides but the proposal was scrapped later. The bus lanes will now be built next to the median, Bharadwaj said. A corridor will be built from the bus stops to the traffic light. Passengers getting off a bus will walk through the corridor to reach the signal. Passengers will get off the bus and cross the road at the zebra crossing. Those trying to board a bus will reach the bus lane through the zebra crossing and then walk through the corridor to the bus stop, Bharadwaj said. Despite work picking up pace, there are apprehensions that the 18-month deadline will be missed. Very little work has been completed between Metropolitan and the entry to Salt Lake. There are some encroachments on this stretch too, said the official. Bharadwaj admitted that there has been little progress on the northern end of Bypass but assured things would start moving soon. We will remove the encroachments and work will continue at a steady pace. Widening the EM Bypass is a necessity to maintain a smooth flow of vehicles, he said. Residents, though happy about the widening of the Bypass, point out the project has its flipside too. Many large trees have already been felled and I fear many more will be cut. The Bypass is no more the green stretch it used to be. It has become barren. I want the authorities to plant enough trees so that Bypass regains its greenery , Durbha said.
Shashank is currently working on a camera trap meant to capture photographs of tigers in the Sunderbans. Another area of interest is the salinity of water and submerging of islands in the Sunderbans. Although Shashank did his ISC with geography, home science, physical education, environmental science and English, he has been studying math and physics privately I . have taken tuitions in math and physics to make up for what I didnt study till Class X.
Right now, I am studying math and physics for classes XI and XII, smiles Shashank. The three-year course at Invercargill covers data management and introductory biometrics, organic chemistry, biochemistry genetics and mi, crobiology, and renewable energy in the context of energy production and utilisation. He had applied for admission to several institutes across India, but nobody would take him because he did not have the required subjects. But his projects and experiments won him a seat in one of New Zealands reputable institutes. I am so happy for him, says mother Shobha. Shashanks medical condition is a mild form of autism.