Multiple rallies cripple traffic, commuters stranded in central Calcutta at peak hours
Telegraph | 26 November 2025
Five rallies that criss-crossed central Calcutta during peak hours on Monday left thousands of commuters stranded and brought traffic to a standstill.
The processions, starting from different locations with varied demands, ranged from teacher job aspirants seeking changes in the ongoing recruitment process to booth-level officers (BLOs) protesting excessive workload during the special intensive revision of Bengal’s electoral rolls.
Traffic on Central Avenue, AJC Bose Road, APC Road, SN Banerjee Road, Chowringhee, and Bentinck Street was among the worst affected.
The rallies took place between 10am and 2pm, with some occurring simultaneously along different routes.
Many commuters struggled to reach offices on time on the first working day of the week.
“I was stuck on Central Avenue for more than 20 minutes this afternoon. A rally was crossing Chowringhee and the entire stretch was blocked,” said a resident of Gurusaday Dutt Road, heading to his office in north Calcutta.
The first procession, organised by members of the Matua Samaj, began around 10am, demanding “simplification of the SIR and the Citizenship Amendment Act”. Hundreds joined from Howrah and Sealdah stations.
As multiple rallies merged, traffic snarls spread to AJC Bose Road, Moulali, SN Banerjee Road, Esplanade, the Howrah Bridge approach, Brabourne Road, Rabindra Sarani, Bentinck Street, Ganesh Chandra Avenue, Central Avenue, and Madan Street.
Before roads could clear, a second procession of teacher job aspirants took to the streets around 11am from Sealdah station. Initially marching towards Ramlila Maidan, the group allegedly changed direction towards Esplanade, where police blocked their attempt to breach the cordon.
At noon, a third rally, by BLOs, began from College Square to the office of the
Election Commission on NS Road. Many non-BLO participants joined, apparently in solidarity, protesting the heavy workload. The police barricaded the chief electoral officer’s office and prevented the rallyists from advancing further.
Two more rallies were held in central Calcutta. The Jogyo Sikshak Sikshika Adhikar Mancha SLST-2016 gathered at Shahid Minar, while the Hawkers Joint Action Committee rallied in front of the Esplanade Metro entrance, demanding the implementation of a 2014 hawkers’ Act and social security.
Other processions included a rally in front of Nizam Palace by the West Bengal Medical and Sales Representatives Union and a march from Raja Subodh Mullick Square to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation headquarters organised by the Hawkers’ Sangram Committee.
In Salt Lake, teacher aspirants for the upper primary level (Classes VI-VIII) of government-aided schools demanded that the last phase of recruitments be completed immediately. The school service commission assured the protesters that the final phase of recruitment would be completed by December.