Tallah Bridge closed to traffic

The arterial Tallah Bridge in the city will be closed to heavy vehicles as it has been declared "most vulnerable" by engineering consultancy company RITES, urban development minister Firhad Hakim said on Friday.

Hakim said vehicles weighing more than 3 tonnes will not be allowed to ply on the 57-year-old bridge from Sunday.

Only light four wheelers and pedestrians will be allowed to use the 625 m-long bridge, which connects the northern fringes to the central part of the city, till the end of Durga Puja so that revellers and pandal hoppers are not inconvenienced, he said.

The decision was taken at a meeting held at the secretariat by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the day, Hakim said.

The bridge was recently declared most vulnerable after a study of its health by RITES.

The health of a number of bridges and flyovers in the city are being checked by the administration after the collapse of the Majherhat bridge in September last year. Three persons had lost their lives in the collapse.

Engineers of the public works department, which is jointly responsible with the Railway for the maintenance of the bridge, had conducted an inspection of it earlier this week.

According to the experts the bridge needs urgent repair as it has become very weak. As of now the PWD has decided to install three height bars to restrict the movement of heavy vehicles on it, officials said.

The bridge is used by around 600 passenger buses every day. These vehicles and the large number of trucks plying on it will be diverted to other routes, Hakim told reporters after the meeting.

The alternative routes for heavy vehicles will be chalked out by officers of the transport department along with those of the Kolkata Police, Bidhanngar and the Barrackpore commiserate police, he said.

A detailed advertisement in this regard will be published to make the common people aware of the situation, he said.

Asked whether the bridge will be demolished, Hakim said technical experts of PWD and the RITES will hold a meeting after Durga Puja to take a call on the next course of action in this connection.

Since RITES came out with the report on the bridge's health, goods vehicles entering the city have been diverted to Kona Expressway instead of crossing the Nivedita bridge to enter the city.

Sixtyfive families who live under the bridge have been shifted from the area, Hakim added.