KOLKATA: The West Bengal government has decided to stop Kolkata’s 150-year-old tram service in some parts of Kolkata due to vehicular traffic. Transport Minister Snehashish Chakraborty, however, said that no date has been fixed to discontinue the service.“There is no date fixed to do so. We are not discontinuing tramways from today or tomorrow, we are aware of people’s emotions. Moreover, the matter is also pending before the Calcutta High Court. We will abide by the court direction,” Chakraborty said.“As roads comprise only 6% of Kolkata’s surface area and with increase in vehicular traffic, we have observed that trams cannot ply the roads along the same routes at the same time as it is leading to congestion,” Chakraborty said.“Tramways are leading to traffic jams and road accidents. It is also not economically viable. Only a stretch at Maidan, Esplanade and Khidirpur will remain,” he added.The HC, while hearing a PIL, had on December 11 last year suggested that a public-private partnership model can be used to restore and rejuvenate tramcar services in Kolkata. Responding to a query, the minister said that the state government allows only those commercial vehicles to ply the roads that conform to the pollution norms and encourages the usage of electric vehicles, “which is yielding results”.
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