Siliguri, 01st June: In a major move to control the increasing traffic congestion in Siliguri, the Traffic Department of Siliguri Metropolitan Police has imposed a complete ban on the movement of e-rickshaws (totos) on the city’s main roads.
According to the new directive issued by the Traffic Department, totos will now have to operate through service roads instead of the main carriageways. The new arrangement came into effect from Monday.
DCP (Traffic) Quazi Samsuddin Ahamed said that the excessive number of totos on major roads was severely affecting traffic movement in the city. He stated that during peak hours, traffic jams were frequently caused due to totos stopping on main roads for boarding and dropping passengers, creating inconvenience for commuters as well as emergency services.
Following a detailed study of the situation, the Traffic Department decided to divert toto movement to service roads in an attempt to ease congestion on key routes.
Meanwhile, private buses operating on the Kolkata route will no longer be allowed to stand on Siliguri Junction roads to pick up passengers. As an alternative arrangement, a private space of NBSTC has been temporarily designated as the bus stand for these buses.
A trial run of the new traffic arrangement was conducted on Sunday in the presence of DCP (Traffic) Quazi Samsuddin Ahamed, ACP Sudhir Kumar Dutta and officials of Siliguri Junction Traffic Guard.
The DCP further informed that the arrangement is currently temporary, as construction work for a new bus terminus is underway at Paribahan Nagar. Once completed, buses operating on the Kolkata route will be shifted there permanently. Until then, all such buses will operate from the NBSTC private bus stand.
Traffic Police teams have been deployed at important intersections and roads to ensure strict implementation of the new rules. Legal action will also be taken against those violating the regulations.