Rally chokes city heart, Sealdah-Esplanade buses forced to take detour via AJC Bose Rd
Times of India | 3 September 2024
Kolkata: From long detours to tiring wait on the road, the week’s first day — punctuated with multiple rallies — posed endless traffic hurdles for commuters in the city, but barely elicited complaints. Most waited patiently for the traffic snarl to clear out and followed police instruction of diversions, a rare sight that the city has been witnessing for the past few days.Others even walked down from Sealdah station to central Kolkata.
Motorists seeking to travel from Sealdah to Esplanade, a 2-km distance, had to travel via Mallick Bazar and Park Street to reach their destination. It was worse for bus passengers, who had to take the AJC Bose road via Camac Street and Exide for around an hour in the afternoon.
“While we get upset over political protests that choke roads, this is something different. This time doctors and come people have come out on the road protesting against the gruesome rape and murder of a young doctor at her workplace. I realise I am getting delayed but we can all adjust a bit for the greater cause of seeking justice,” said Tanima Mondal, a Behala resident who was stuck at CR Avenue on Monday afternoon.
“There was a major traffic jam near Moulali. We decided to get off the bus and walk on SN Banerjee Road. While it is a difficult for me at this age, I respect the emotion of the protesters. I am with them. My only request will be to ensure that one particular stretch does not get held up for a long period,” stated 64-year-old Debashis Nath, a resident of Sodepur who was headed towards Esplanade.
By evening, the north-bound traffic on JL Nehru and CR Avenue was hit again, with the BJP protest marking out one full lane. But even bus drivers and multiple bikers, who often rue at being stuck in the rallies and climb on pavements and enter short alleys to escape the snarl, were found patiently waiting on the road, many even taking photographs of the rallies.
Monday saw four major rallies that touched the city centre and heart of south Kolkata at Alipore between 2pm and 5pm. The biggest of these was taken out by junior doctors from College Street as they walked along Bow Bazar and BB Ganguly Street on their way to Lalbazar before they were stopped at Phears Lane, where they sat on a demonstration. Another rally was taken out by CPIML-Citizens’ forums from CIT Road – Moulali crossing to SN Banerjee Road. They were scheduled to end their rally at Hogg Market. However, the protesters squatted on the road, bringing traffic to a halt.
There were two more rallies – one at Belvedere Road to Baker Road and another from Esplanade to Exide crossing via Park Street, Camac Street and AJC Bose Road. “Students living at Kidderpore and New Alipore reached home after almost two hours since we had started from their school at central Kolkata at 1.30pm,” said Sanjay Das, a pool car operator.