Kolkata: Multiple protests, coupled with a few processions to celebrate BR Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, clogged central Kolkata for around three hours on Monday afternoon, despite it being a holiday. While Bhangar turned into battlefield as police stopped protesters from heading to Kolkata for the rally against the new Waqf law, around 5,000-odd ISF supporters still managed to dodge cops and reach. “This large gathering moved from the Sealdah station to Ramlila Maidan around 2.30 pm. They took the Sealdah flyover, crossed the Moulali intersection and headed towards Ramlila ground. The worst hit were people travelling to and from Sealdah station and students, whose classes were held on Monday,” said an officer. Just before the ISF rally, BSP members led a procession to the Ambedkar statue in the Maidan. Soon after, another rally, led by teachers who have lost their jobs, hit the streets. Traffic in the entire area, between Kidderpore Road on one end and Rajabazar on the other, was disrupted between 1 pm and 4 pm, with several buses and private vehicles being diverted via Park Street or MG Road.
Even ambulances got stuck. Sashanka Khamroi, accompanying an accident victim, Swapan Doloi (34), told TOI he was asked to shift Swapan from SSKM to NRS Hospital. “I was stranded on Lenin Sarani for over 40 minutes and then on APC Roy Road for 15 minutes. This, despite the protesters trying to help our ambulance out,” said Sashanka. Purabi Bondopadhyay, a teacher at Dumdum Sarbadai Balika Vidyapith, said she brought her students from her school to a Moulali auditorium for Ambedkar’s birth anniversary. “Around 20 students were with me. About to board a bus, we realised a protest was on. I took my girls walking to the Sealdah station and boarded a train,” she said.
Police said traffic movement was restricted on the Kidderpore Road-Red Road to accommodate a procession of around 4,000-odd people from Tiljala to Maidan for Ambedkar’s birth anniversary. Modern High School for Girls principal Damayanti Mukherjee said, “Our students did not face significant issues returning home… Police were very cooperative, so despite jams, there was no major problem.” “Since it was a holiday, the effect of the highway being shut down was limited,” said a Tiljala Traffic Guard officer.
