West Bengal has launched a live traffic control room at the traffic headquarters in Araksha Bhavan, Salt Lake, to monitor road movement across the state through real-time CCTV feeds, with particular attention to state and national highways. A toll-free helpline has also been introduced for commuters to report traffic violations and artificially created congestion.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari inaugurated the facility on Friday and visited the control room, where screens displayed live footage from CCTV cameras installed on roads across Bengal. According to the police, the system will allow officials to assess traffic conditions from the headquarters and identify whether congestion is linked to road conditions, violations, parking or other factors.
The toll-free helpline number is 18003458922. “Artificially created congestion or traffic violations can be reported at this toll-free helpline number. You can inform us at 18003458922,” Suvendu said after inspecting the facility. He added that a mobile link, email facility and WhatsApp number would subsequently be introduced as additional channels for complaints.
The chief minister identified several locations where congestion has been a recurring concern, including Palsit, Dankuni, Farakka, Kaliachak, Dalkhola and Islampur. He also raised concerns about parked vehicles occupying roads in Darjeeling and Kalimpong. Suvendu said around 60 per cent of the road space in the two hill districts was occupied by parked vehicles, while acknowledging that a shortage of parking space could be contributing to the problem.
The control room is intended to give the administration a centralised view of traffic conditions rather than relying only on reports from individual road locations. The live feeds will be used to examine the causes of congestion and monitor traffic movement, although the report did not specify the number of cameras connected to the system, the roads currently covered or the operating protocol for responding to alerts.
The traffic initiative was announced alongside several measures involving police mobility and emergency response. The state police will receive 450 four-wheelers and a similar number of motorcycles on Mahalaya to respond to calls made to the 112 emergency line. Suvendu said the average response time was around 30 minutes in rural Bengal and between 10 and 15 minutes in urban areas, and that the new vehicles were intended to reduce those times.
The chief minister also announced the procurement of 50 modern boats for the coastal police through the disaster-management fund. He said the government was working to develop around 300 police stations as model police stations. On recruitment, he said legal proceedings affecting appointments would need to be resolved before 12,000 Bengal Police and 4,000 Kolkata Police posts could be filled.
The government also said recruitment would become more transparent, with marks and relevant details published on the official website rather than relying only on SMS notifications. Candidates seeking copies of their answer scripts would be provided them without having to wait 24 hours, Suvendu said. The traffic control room and complaint helpline are now the immediate measures aimed at improving monitoring and reporting of congestion across Bengal.
