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Barrackpore Trunk Road

Summary

Barrackpore Trunk Road, commonly known as BT Road, is six-laned trunk road in Kolkata metropolitan area, West Bengal, India. It connects Kolkata with its suburb Barrackpore. Built in 1775, it is the oldest metalled road and one of the busiest roads in the country. The 18.1 km (11.2 mi) long road is a part of both State Highway 1 and State Highway 2.

Barrackpore Trunk Road
BT Road
Barrackpore Trunk Road highlighted in redBarrackpore Trunk Road - Panihati - North 24 Parganas 2012-04-11 9471.JPG
BT Road, Panihati
Route information
Length18.1 km (11.2 mi)
Existed1775–present
Major junctions
FromBarrackpore
ToShyambazar
Location
CountryIndia
StatesWest Bengal
DistrictsKolkata and North 24 Parganas
MunicipalitiesBarrackpore Municipality, Titagarh Municipality, Khardaha Municipality, Panihati Municipality, Kamarhati Municipality, Baranagar Municipality and Kolkata Municipal Corporation
Highway system

Barrackpore Trunk Road has multiple institutes and other landmarks along it, including the Indian Statistical Institute and Rabindra Bharati University. Once the areas around the road were industrial zones, but gradually, residential areas sprawled and replaced the industries. The city's 160-year-old water supply pipeline runs under the road. An elevated metro line was planned in 2010–2011 over the road from Baranagar to Barrackpore. BT Road has a major intersection at Dunlop.

Route description edit

The 18.1-kilometre (11.2-mile)[1] trunk road starts from the Shyambazar 5-point crossing in North Kolkata, goes straight northward and ends at Barrackpore Chiria More,[a] near the office of the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate. It serves the Tala, Sinthee, Tobin Road, Baranagar, Dunlop, Belgharia, Kamarhati, Agarpara, Panihati, Sodepur, Sukchar, Khardaha. Titagarh areas, under the municipalities of Barrackpore, Titagarh, Khardaha, Panihati, Kamarhati, Baranagar and Kolkata Municipal Corporation.[3] The West Bengal State Highway 1 and State Highway 2 runs through BT Road.[4] It is mainly a six-lane road of 21 m (69 ft) width, between Shyambazar and Kamarhati, except some parts having four lanes. The traffic volume on the trunk road fewer than 7,000 passenger car units a day in the late 1990s, which had increased to 12,000 passenger car units a day in 2010. A six-lane flyover is planned between Tallah Bridge and Dunlop to decongest the BT Road.[5][6]

 
Barrackpore Trunk Road at Dunlop More

Dunlop More is a T-shaped major intersection in the route. There, it passes under the Belghoria Expressway (AH1). The branched out road from BT Road at Dunlop joins the Belghoria Expressway, which further connects with National Highways 16 and 19 on the other side of Hooghly River. It also has a one-way flyover from the branched road, which joins BT Road on the Shyambazar-facing lane.[7] Barrackpore Trunk Road passes under Kolkata Metro Line 1 and Chord Link Line (Kolkata Suburban Railway) and has an interchange facility with Baranagar metro station[8] and Baranagar Road railway station[9] respectively, at Dunlop.[6]

History edit

Barrackpore was the first British cantonment in India, set up in 1772.[10][11] To connect it with the then country capital, Calcutta, the trunk road was built in 1775; it was the first metalled road in India and is also one of the busiest roads in the country.[12][13]

Later the areas including Khardah, Sodepur and Titagarh, along BT Road grew into industrial zones. Some of the notable mills included Mohini Mills in Belghoria, Basanti Cotton Mills in Khardah Jute Mill/ But during the late 1970–80s, deindustrialization began under the then Chief Minister Jyoti Basu's tenure in the state.[14] This led to a shift from heavy industries to small and cottage industries, with many of the industrial developments on the road closing. Gradually, property developers took up the vacant lands and built housing infrastructure along the road.[15] The announcement of metro projects also increased the demand of residential properties.[16][17]

Landmarks edit

Institutes edit

Some major institutes and campuses including Indian Statistical Institute, a Statistical Laboratory set up by Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in Kolkata;[18] Rabindra Bharati University, a public research university;[19] College of Medicine & Sagore Dutta Hospital, a referral government hospital, medical college and research institute;[20] University of Calcutta BT Road Campus, a collegiate public state research university;[21] are situated on Barrackpore Trunk Road.

Other landmarks edit

Other notable landmarks along the route include the Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Panihati factory;[22] NCERT Production-cum-Distribution Centre, Panihati;[23] Texmaco Rail & Engineering Limited, Belgharia;[24] and CESC Titagarh generating station.[25]

Kolkata Metro edit

 
Baranagar Road railway station and Baranagar metro station (behind)

The Baranagar–Barrackpore metro line (or Line 5) is a 12.5 km (7.8 mi) northward extension of the Kolkata Metro network along BT Road with Baranagar metro station serving as the interchange between Line 1 and Line 5. It was sanctioned at a cost of ₹2,069.6 crore (equivalent to ₹46 billion or US$580 million in 2023) in the 2010–2011 budget. This line was meant to enable a quick commute from the northernmost suburbs to South Kolkata.[26][16]

Although the work never started as the Government of West Bengal had proposed for realignment of the line via Kalyani Expressway, due to the presence of arterial water pipelines under BT Road, that supply water to Kolkata. The construction work might damage the water pipelines, cutting off the city's water supply. It might also create huge traffic congestion on the busy road.[16][27][28] As of 2021, only Shyambazar and Baranagar metro station are connected with the trunk road.

Palta-Tala pipeline edit

Potable water pipeline connections from Palta Waterworks to Kolkata, along the BT Road, existed since the late 1860s. After the construction of the Tala tank, it was joined with 42 in (110 cm) diameter cast iron pipes.[29][30] There are six pipelines of 42–70 in (110–180 cm) diameter, under BT Road connecting the Tala reservoir with Palta.[31] It also carries water pipes of other municipalities including Sodepur and Panihati.[16]

Major intersections edit

 
Barrackpore Trunk Road end at Shyambazar 5-point crossing

The entire route is in West Bengal.

Location Distance Destinations Notes
Shyambazar 0.0 km (0 mi) Southern terminus
Dunlop 5.8 km (3.6 mi)   Belghoria Expressway
Barrackpore 18.1 km (11.2 mi)   State Highway 1
  State Highway 2 		Northern terminus

Notes edit

  1. ^ "More" refers to junction or intersection in Bangla.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ "List of roads maintained by different divisions in North 24 Parganas District" (PDF). West Bengal Public Works Department. p. 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  2. ^ "মোড় - English Meaning of 'মোড়' at english-bangla.com". english-bangla.com. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Barrackpore City Police". barrackporecitypolice.in. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  4. ^ "District Highway Road Map". West Bengal Highway Development Corporation Limited. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  5. ^ "High bet on BT Road". The Telegraph. 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Barrackpore Trunk Road". Google Maps. 1 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Faster flow promise in flyover unveil". The Telegraph. 1 October 2012. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Mamata paves way for Metro's northern journey". The Times of India. 3 January 2010. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  9. ^ "BARN/Baranagar Road". indiarailinfo.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  10. ^ "18th century BT Road's transformation documented". The Indian Express. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Official Website of Barrackpore Sub Division". barrackpore.gov.in. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Around the City of Joy". The Statesman. New Delhi. 22 February 2017. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  13. ^ "'Reinvention' of India's oldest metalled road". The Statesman. 18 February 2017. ISSN 0972-0219. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  14. ^ Patnaik, Prabhat (2012). Re-envisioning Socialism (PDF). Columbia University Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-8189487966. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  15. ^ Chakraborty, Tapas (24 April 2021). "Industrial workers on Kolkata's outskirts resigned to their fate". National Herald. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  16. ^ a b c d Mandal, Sanjay (26 February 2015). "Going going... RIP Barrackpore Metro". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  17. ^ real-ties (PDF). Vol. 10. Kolkata: N. K. Realtors (P) Ltd. (published April 2014). 2014. p. 8. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  18. ^ "ISI Kolkata Campus". isical.ac.in. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Contact". rbu.ac.in. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  20. ^ "Contact us". cmsdh.edu.in. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  21. ^ "B.T. Road Campus". caluniv.ac.in. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Contact Information". Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Activities of the Department". ncert.nic.in. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  24. ^ "Texmaco Rail & Engineering Limited". texmaco.in. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  25. ^ "About Us". cesc.co.in. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  26. ^ "Road Ahead….. Projects sanctioned". mtp.indianrailways.gov.in. 8 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  27. ^ Bandyopadhyay, Krishnendu (16 May 2018). "Metro: Metro iffy about state's Barrackpore route plan". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  28. ^ Mandal, Sanjay (16 January 2018). "Barrackpore Metro 'detour' to Kalyani". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  29. ^ "Water Supply in Old Days". kmwsa.gov.in. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  30. ^ Zohar, Zvi (20 June 2013). Rabbinic Creativity in the Modern Middle East. Bloomsbury. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-4725-1150-8. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  31. ^ Mandal, Sanjay (15 May 2018). "Govt wants to scrap BT Road Metro route". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.

See also edit

External links edit

  Media related to Barrackpore Trunk Road at Wikimedia Commons

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