KOLKATA: Kolkata Traffic Police has started receiving over a dozen breakdown calls daily on the 1073 helpline number advertised for cars encountering trouble on Maa or AJC Bose Road flyovers. Three weeks after the facility was launched, cops claim that on a daily basis, three to four calls pertain to breakdowns on Maa and AJC Bose flyover, while the rest are from motorists facing trouble in other parts of the city.
"The initial response was very tepid. However, as the rains set in slowly in the past one week, the number of calls have gone up. A study of these calls has led us to believe that it is mainly self-driven car owners who end up calling us,"explained an officer manning the toll-free number.
The number, however, is yet to gain popularity. "We still need to keep men on the bridge to monitor breakdowns," he stated.
The east and Tiljala traffic guards that man the twin bridges - along with south guard and Beliaghata guard - stated that they rush in tow vehicles as soon as the 1073 control room informs them. "We need to develop a system where even other motorist can alert us when they notice a breakdown,"said an officer. "At a length of 9.2km, Maa is the longest and the busiest flyover in Kolkata. As a result, vehicle breakdowns are a daily occurrence. As a way of addressing the issue, we have launched a breakdown helpline with focus on Maa flyover. From now on, whenever you experience car trouble on the flyover, call us at 1073," cops stated stated on social media during the launch.
"During office hours, it is a major headache as there is no space to park on the flyover. At times, we must stop movement on the flyover and channel movement through Park Circus connector," said an officer from Tiljala guard.
At present, there are two wrecker vehicles stationed towards Park Circus 7-point crossing and at Science City end.
