Protests in central Kolkata causing jams, look for space in New Town, says HC
Times of India | 16 January 2025
12 Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday again broached the issue of designated protest zones in the city, referring to the fact that protests in central Kolkata are causing massive congestion. Hearing a plea by civil society organisation ‘Ratt Dokhol (Nari Trans Queer) Aikya Mancha' (Reclaim The Night United), Justice Tirthankar Ghosh also stated that with New Town expanding, he "would want the govt to earmark New Town as a space where it can be conducted" as protests in central Kolkata are causing massive congestion.
The HC, however, allowed the petitioners to organize a rally from Wellington Square to College Square at 1.30 pm on Thursday. The protest rally on the RG Kar incident, which aims to seek "proper probe and speedy trial", will have a gathering of 100 people, the advocate representing the forum submitted.
The forum initially sought to conduct a rally from Wellington to RR Avenue, which was then changed to near KMC headquarters during the legal proceedings. Finally, a consensus was reached between the protesters and the state that the rally will take place from Wellington to College Square. Justice Ghosh allowed the protesters to gather inside the park there for concluding speeches.
The forum had previously expressed the desire to submit a list of demands to the chief secretary. The high court on Wednesday asked them to submit the same to the law secretary instead. In Nov 2024, Justice Ghosh had asked the state to come up with a notification earmarking areas where agitations can be conducted. Justice Ghosh had told the state, "Ask your principal secretary for the rules of the state and Kolkata police commissioner or Bengal DG. Take reports from the SPs and earmark the areas. For Kolkata, ask the commissioner because they are the ultimate authority who would be responsible for the law-and-order situation."