An artist?s impression of the two underpasses at Moulali

For about 20 long minutes, vehicles stand still at the Moulali crossing of AJC Bose Road with Lenin Sarani and SN Banerjee Road. There?s nothing to do but fret in the fume.

And in this congested corridor, flying over the car crawl is not an option. Driving underground seems a better bet.

So, according to officer on special duty to the mayor Shaktibrata Ghose, two vehicular underpasses are to be constructed at Moulali ? running below AJC Bose Road, at the crossings with Lenin Sarani and SN Banerjee Road.

The two underpasses, for which concept plans are being invited, will start descending from Taltala, only to rise after the Moulali crossing, close to Convent Road, and meet either flank of CIT Road.

To avoid flooding during monsoon, the roads leading to the underpasses will rise first before gradually descending. Besides, drainage arrangements will also be put in place.

Apart from the congestion, the case against flyovers at Moulali has been strengthened by the faulty planning of the Gariahat and Park Street high roads. Enough to force Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) to construct two additional arms by investing another Rs 100 crore at Ballygunge Phari and at the Dorina crossing at Esplanade.

Also, the flyovers are dragging down property rates in prime locations. ?Buildings abutting APC Road, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Gariahat Road, AJC Bose Road and a section of Jawaharlal Nehru Road have lost their commercial value after the flyovers came up,? points out Subrata Mukherjee.

City planners of the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners ? responsible for constructing the flyovers at Gariahat, AJC Bose Road, Park Street and Lockgate Road in Chitpur ? have confirmed that a flyover on the Lenin Sarani-Philips crossing stretch would be expensive and ineffective.

Once the concepts are scanned, they will be placed at the meeting of the Calcutta Metropolitan Planning Committee for finalisation.

For the twin Moulali underpasses, mayor Mukherjee said the CMC would take a loan from foreign agencies or issue bonds to raise funds.