Jessore Road starts from the edge of Shyam bazaar in north Kolkata and ends at Jessore in Bangladesh’s Khulna district. The road exists since the days of the Turkish attacks on Bengal in the 12th century. Although sectors of the road are part of two national highways – the Dum Dum–Barasat sector is part of NH 12 and the Barasat–Petrapole sector is now part of NH 112 – Jessore Road looks very different. It is not broad, has no dividers, is prone to accidents and the traffic is slow, despite it being a major trade route.

Jessore Road has been witness to carnage, smuggling, migration and trade. It saw action during the first war of independence in 1857 at the ammunition factory in Dum Dum. It saw the construction of the country’s first golf course (the land is now part of the Kolkata airport), as well as being part of the refugee exodus in 1947 and 1971.

Despite being a trade route, Jessore Road is narrow, has no dividers and no emergency facilities that are found on other major routes. There is also hardly any security on the road. The only people you see are locals from the village.