Garia-Jadavpur commuters caught in police-auto row
Times of India | 6 September 2025
Kolkata: Traffic movement between Garia and Jadavpur was disrupted for nearly three hours on Friday after auto drivers on the Garia-Golpark route blocked Bagha Jatin crossing to protest against alleged indiscriminate prosecution and fines imposed by police.
Hundreds of commuters were left stranded.
The blockade, which began around 11.45 am, was lifted around 2.30 pm following talks between police and auto unions.
Services on the Garia-Patuli and Bagha Jatin crossing-Ranikuthi routes were also suspended. Auto drivers claimed there were about 700 autos operating on the Garia-Golpark route but their earnings were apparently affected by the rising number of battery-operated rickshaws ferrying passengers between Jadavpur and Garia.
They alleged that while police penalise autos for traffic violations, they allow illegal battery-operated rickshaws and totos to ply on main roads.
"The battery-operated illegal rickshaws have almost overtaken the number of autos operating here. The cops turn a blind eye to them and their violations," said Debraj Ghosh, an auto union functionary in Gariahat.
Police officers maintained that autos were contributing to congestion by waiting for passengers at crossings and carrying additional passengers.
However, after a meeting with union leaders, officers of Garia traffic guard assured them that a drive against unruly battery-operated rickshaws would begin next week. "The autos break routes and block crossroads. There are multiple auto union leaders in this section.
E-rickshaws are a problem but since they don't come under the MV Act, our hands are also tied," said a senior officer of Kolkata Police.
Commuters faced delays and detours. "I was headed to MR Bangur Hospital to meet a relative admitted there, but our bus stopped a little before Bagha Jatin crossing because of the blockade. I got down and took a local train from Bagha Jatin station to Jadavpur, and then an auto to reach the hospital," said Sabita Halder of Ramgarh. Subhasree Majumdar said her app cab from Jadavpur to Garia had to take a detour via Santoshpur and Patuli.