‘Untainted’ march to Nabanna, traffic feels heat across Kolkata
Times of India | 15 July 2025
Kolkata: Several hundred cops blocked multiple entries to Nabanna to stop thousands of unemployed ‘untainted' teachers from marching to Nabanna on Monday. The rally threw traffic in large parts of Kolkata and Howrah into a mess for better part of the day. After hours of negotiations, the protesters — marching under the Jogya Shikshak Shikshika Adhikar Mancha, a platform representing ‘untainted' candidates who sought a meeting with CM Mamata Banerjee and chief secretary Manoj Pant — said they would not budge and would continue to protest on the roaduntil the publication of a certified list of eligible candidates was uploaded on the West Bengal School Service Commission's website. The protesters gave the govt "a deadline" until Monday midnight. A 20-member team — 18 teachers and two non-teaching staff — made the announcement at a press conference after meeting CS Pant on Monday evening. Suman Biswas, who was in the meeting, said: "We demanded a clear list to be uploaded on the website; that's the only demand we have at this stage. Why should we take responsibility for this scam?" Mehebub Mandal, another prominent face of the protest, said, "They are trying to put all responsibilities on us, saying the uploaded list might create legal issues in the review process. However, we are ready to take responsibility but will not withdraw the protest until the list is published.
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The agitation threw traffic as far as CR Avenue in central Kolkata out of gear for around three hours post 1 pm. The traffic tail on Strand Road reached Fairlie Place till around 4 pm as most Howrah-Kolkata vehicles were routed through Howrah bridge. In Howrah, the traffic situation was worse, with almost all roads to Kolkata under tight security. Even the bylanes in Mandirtala were barricaded, hampering normal movement. There were concerns about unrest surrounding the Nabanna Abhijan even as the protesters gathered at the Howrah station around noon. Huge metal barricades were installed at several key locations like Bangabashi crossing on GT Road, Ramakrishnapur Ghat Gate along Foreshore Road, Kazipara crossing, and Satragachi crossing.
Additionally, small guard rails were installed in the areas adjacent to Nabanna, such as Shibpur, Mandirtala, and Belepole. RAF personnel were deployed at each point and two water cannons were kept ready. An additional 2,000 policemen were brought in from various commissionerates.