Lone protester rues lack of crowd support at pandals
Times of India | 9 October 2024
Kolkata: Protest call at pandals has failed to draw crowds. A protester, who raised slogans demanding justice for the R G Kar rape-murder victim during pandal-hopping with her daughter in a few pujas near Baghajatin area on Monday, lamented the lack of crowd support.
“Since my daughter loves to see puja pandals, I had a different plan. I thought of gathering about 50 people and planned to chant slogans at the pandals.
We would chant while in line, see the deity, and leave. But people aren’t willing after the police commissioner said that they would act against unplanned protests,” said Satabdi Das, one of the organizers of the ‘Reclaim the Night’ protests.
“So instead of fifty, only my daughter and myself visited around five pandals and raised slogans. The people around us did not reciprocate to our slogans. They were looking at us strangely,” she added.
“Before going to the rally by doctors, I, along with my daughter, visited pandals of College Square, Md Ali Park and Santosh Mitra Square. But like before, no one reciprocated.” Das said she would exercise her freedom of speech and not misbehave but added that she will continue to protest at pandals. “We won’t let people forget. I will continue to give slogans at pandals. I urge people to continue the protest amid celebrations,” she added.