Kolkata, Sept. 18 -- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday expressed concern over rampant illegal parking in the hill towns of Darjeeling and Kalimpong and directed the administration to develop designated parking spaces to ease traffic congestion.

Speaking after inaugurating a modern live traffic control room at Arakshya Bhavan in the presence of Bengal DGP Siddh Nath Gupta, Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal, Home Secretary Sanghamitra Ghosh and senior police officers, Adhikari said parking-related congestion had become a serious issue in the hills.

He said the local administration had been asked to identify land and develop new parking facilities using engineering expertise and guidelines from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). "I am worried about the parking issues in the hills. The state government will provide adequate funds and necessary land to build new parking places," Adhikari said.

The Chief Minister said around 60 per cent of the main roads in Darjeeling and Kalimpong towns were being affected by unplanned street parking. He said the resulting traffic jams posed a particular risk to schoolchildren and could hamper emergency services.

Adhikari directed the District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police of both districts to jointly prepare a comprehensive traffic management plan. He also said the state had released Rs 249 crore for 465 schemes through the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) to repair roads and dangerous bends damaged by natural disasters.

An additional Rs 63 crore had been allocated from the state budget for infrastructure development in the hills.

Adhikari launched a 24-hour helpline, 18003458922, for residents to report traffic-related problems. He said special vigilance would be maintained over night-time traffic congestion, which he suspected could sometimes be deliberate and driven by vested interests.

After inaugurating the control room, the Chief Minister also inspected several traffic posts.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.