Three projects under ''Mass Transport'' for West Bengal

Kolkata, Jul 5 (UNI) The West Bengal government has undertaken three projects under the ''Mass Transport'' scheme to improve the overall transport scenario in the state.

Replying to the debate on the budgetary proposals for his department in the Assembly today, Transport Minister Subhash Chakraborty said the scheme included a 50 km long ring road along outskirts of Kolkata, monorail from Panihati to Joka and east-west Metro from Howrah to Salt Lake.

Mr Chakraborty said a global tender would be floated for the ring road within two-three days which would substantially ease the traffic congestion in the city.

Referring to the monorail project, he said it would be implemented with the financial assistance from the Centre adding the speed of it would be 30 km per hour.

Mentioning about the east-west Metro expansion, Mr Chakraborty said the state government would provide all ''infrastructural assistance'' to the project as it had done earlier to other Metro expansions in the city.

He said because of increasing number of cars on city roads, the traffic problem of Kolkata was becoming ''complicated'' but claimed that in regard to speed of vehicles the city was ahead of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.

Expressing concern over the rising number of road accidents in Kolkata and other cities of the country, Mr Chakraborty said a national policy on road safety should be formulated and maintained that the state government would urge upon the Centre in this regard.

UNI