Rs 40 billion 200-km radius Ring Road proposed in Kolkata by SVBTC

The Second Vivekananda Bridge Tollway Corporation Private Limited (SVBTC), which constructed Nivedita Setu over the Hooghly at Bally-Dakshineswar, has proposed building a 200-kilometer radius ring road. The concept was addressed at the roundtable hosted by the SVBTC. Around Rs 40 billion is what the project will probably cost. Lala K Roy, Chairman of the Advisory Board, SVBTC stated, “The plan will be formulated and sent to the Central ministry. The fund can be organized after the proposal is sent to the central ministry as the budget has an allocation on such ring road projects in mega urban centres. All major cities, Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, have outer ring roads.”

During the round table, Rajib Chattaraj, Chief Engineer, National Highway Branch of PWD, had said that the route from Barajaguli (NH-34), Kampa -Mogra-Dankuni (NH-2), Uluberia (NH-6), Budge Budge Bishnupur (NH-117) will act as the Northern and Western section of the Ring Road. The southern and eastern portions of the Ring Road may be planned via Bishnupur (Amtala NH117), Baruipur, Sonarpur, Bhangor Guma near Habra (NH35), and Jeerut Barajaguli, according to Chattaraj (NH34). The outer-ring road, if built, will reduce traffic congestion in the city and streamline the movement of goods and commercial vehicles, and its radial connectedness is of vital significance for ease of movement of traffic in and around Kolkata, according to the study.

The CEO of SVBTC, Anjan Roy Chowdhury, stated that the proposal was well-conceived by the many parties who attended the roundtable. The West Bengal government, particularly representatives from the Public Works Department (PWD), town planners, academics, police, representatives from the Transport Department, and specialists from IIEST, Jadavpur University, and the Kharagpur IIT took part in the roundtable discussion. However, Chowdhury noted that it was still in the conceptual stage.