CMDA to study Bijon Setu’s health

The Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) wants to study the health condition of Bijon Setu situated at Ballygunge for which it wants the bridge to be closed for three days at the earliest. The officials of CMDA, custodian of the bridge has written to Lalbazar recently seeking permission for closure of the bridge for three days for a detailed health study. The letter which was submitted to the traffic department was signed by Antara Acharya, the chief executive of the CMDA. The CMDA is planning to conduct a load bearing test which will determine the weight-bearing capacity of the pillars and the deck slab of Bijon Setu. CMDA had earlier planned to close the traffic on the bridge from 10pm on September 13 to 5am to September 16 for conducting the test. However, the plan had to be postponed since the Traffic department of the Kolkata Police declined the idea as it feared that closure of the bridge a fortnight before Durga Puja could have triggered an unmanageable traffic mess in the Gariahat area. A CMDA official said, “We want the test to be performed at the earliest. It is for senior officers at Lalbazar to decide the dates”. The Kolkata Police has reported that it will discuss about alternative routes with the Southeast and Kasba traffic guards before deciding the dates of closure. The senior officers expressed their concerns regarding schools situated along the Rashbehari connector and hospitals on the Bypass. Bijon Setu happens to be one of the busiest east-west links in Calcutta which links Gariahat with the Ruby connector.