Kolkata Police has begun the process of removing 571 abandoned vehicles from three dumping grounds as dengue cases rise across the city, with the operation targeted for completion before Durga Puja. The vehicles include lorries, cars, motorcycles and autorickshaws that have remained at the sites for years.
According to a report by Anandabazar, the vehicles are located at police dumping grounds beneath Vidyasagar Setu, at Sick Lane and in Bantala. Lalbazar, the headquarters of Kolkata Police, plans to remove the identified vehicles through a tendering process. The move follows the removal of around 700 vehicles from the grounds in June, before the monsoon began.
The second clearance drive comes as Kolkata enters the period when dengue transmission typically increases. The report said dengue cases in the city have crossed 600 this year and that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has identified 16 wards as hotspots. These include wards 16, 31, 39, 44, 54, 56, 69, 82, 93, 109, 111, 116, 124, 128 and 133.
Ward 6 has recorded the highest number of cases among the locations cited in the report, with 54 patients. Ward 31 has reported six cases, while wards 93 and 116 have recorded seven each. Ward 124 has reported six cases. The report did not provide a consolidated citywide breakdown beyond the figure of more than 600 cases.
Abandoned vehicles can collect rainwater in their bodies, cabins and other exposed parts, creating potential breeding sites for mosquitoes. The vehicles at several police station compounds have also reportedly become surrounded by overgrown vegetation. A police officer from a station in Kolkata Police’s South-West Division told Anandabazar that attempts had been made to remove vehicles from station premises, but the dumping grounds had repeatedly been reported as having no available space.
The vehicles accumulate because police may seize them in connection with accidents or other cases and retain them until the related proceedings are completed. In some cases, even after a case is resolved, nobody comes forward to collect the vehicle. Lalbazar’s current plan is to shift the identified unclaimed vehicles from the three dumping grounds elsewhere. Once space is created, vehicles currently occupying police stations and traffic guard premises can be moved to the dumping grounds.
The report said the police action is intended both to reduce conditions that can support mosquito breeding and to clear police compounds before the festival period. However, a Lalbazar official described the removal as part of a routine process and said the tendering procedure had begun. The official also said Kolkata Police remained focused on keeping the city clean.
