Kolkata: Even as rains caused a major headache to Kolkata traffic cops vehicular movement remained a major headache even deep in to the evening after multiple signals malfunctioned – including those that had been malfunctioning since last Tuesday.Among those areas that suffered were the SN Banerjee-Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road and the J& N Island on the Dufferin Road-Red Road-Outram road Crossing. Cops had to resort to manual policing, standing at multiple places in the accumulated water.Such was the situation that cops had to call for emergency back up on CR Avenue and Dalhousie in the evening, moments after the downpour held up, in an attempt to ensure that office time traffic was not hit. In all, the central business area itself reported malfunctioning of 14 major crossings and 7 other smaller ones.Worse, several CCTV cameras set up by Kolkata police and hanging from these signal posts too have taken a hit. Several of them, said sources, were either badly damaged or beyond repair.There are more than 550 major traffic signals that has been installed at important crossings of the city, with several more on non-important ones.Traffic police seniors said that several cops on duty on the ground were asked to move to “safer locations’ abandoning signal posts as multiple thunder claps led to a possibility of them getting electrocuted. “As a result these signals were left deserted. Thankfully, there was almost a fraction of usual traffic during the pouring rains,” said an officer.Cops say their target is to get these signals up and running by Friday morning.“The fact that it is an extended weekend – with Muharram falling on Friday – will help our cause,“ said an officer at the Lalbazar traffic control room. “We have sounded out the agencies maintaining them. But we have already got a few signals in the north and central Kolkata up and running, “said an officer.
