Babri Mosque foundation ceremony brings NH-12 to a standstill
The Statesman | 7 December 2025
The proposed Babri Mosque’s foundation stone was laid at Beldanga in Murshidabad on Saturday by suspended Trinamul Congress MLA Humayun Kabir, exactly as he had announced.
But the large-scale mobilisation for the event triggered severe traffic disruption on national highway 12 (formerly NH-34), leaving the artery virtually paralysed for hours.
Traffic began slowing down shortly after 11 a.m. along the stretch between Baruya Mor and Raghunathganj’s Rejinagar.
By noon, the Kolkata-bound Lane was choked with vehicles lined up bumper-to-bumper, while the Siliguri-bound lane moved marginally better but at a crawl.
Thousands of commuters were stranded, with administrative sources indicating that normal traffic flow was unlikely to be restored before evening.
The venue – only 300 to 400 metres off NH-12 – drew massive crowds on foot and in vehicles, overwhelming the corridor that serves as West Bengal’s primary north-south lifeline.
Rows of parked vehicles along the highway narrowed the space further. As jamming intensified, many walked 7-8 km to reach the site, some taking detours across agricultural fields.
People were also seen carrying bricks on their heads along the highway for the mosque’s symbolic construction ritual.
Despite the district administration diverting vehicles through alternative routes from Palashi, the sheer volume of arrivals made it impossible to prevent gridlock.
The congestion reflected the scale of preparations that had been underway since Friday night.
At Moradighi, a 150-foot-long, 80-foot-wide stage capable of seating 400 VIPs was erected, with organisers estimating the dais alone cost nearly Rs 10 lakh.
Overall expenses for the event, covering logistics, technical arrangements, food and support systems, were pegged at Rs 60-70 lakh.
Kabir’s aides claimed that nearly three lakh people gathered across the 25-bigha ground adjacent to the highway.
Senior officers from the Murshidabad police headquarters conducted late-night inspections on Friday, holding meetings with organisers in an attempt to ensure that the crowd would not spill onto the highway.
Food arrangements were equally large-scale. Seven catering units were tasked with preparing 40,000 packets of shahi biryani for invited guests, with another 20,000 locals expected to be catered to separately, a cost that alone touched Rs 30 lakh.
More than 3,000 volunteers engaged by Kabir’s trust were deployed to guide crowds, manage internal movement and help keep the approach roads clear; at least 2,000 of them had been working since Friday.
Security deployment was among the most extensive the district has seen in recent months.
Around 3,000 personnel, including SP and DSP-rank officers, about 100 inspectors and nearly 200 sub-inspectors and ASIs, were stationed across the area.
They were assisted by constables, women police, civic volunteers, village police, Quick Response Teams (QRT) and RAF units. The district intelligence branch deployed 30 officers at the venue for continuous oversight.
Police sources said their primary challenge was preventing NH-12 from collapsing under pressure, a challenge that proved difficult as the foundation event unfolded with ceremonial precision and an unexpected surge of devotees converging on the site.
By afternoon, the administration remained locked in a battle against time and volume, attempting to bring order back to the state’s most crucial highway even as the event continued to draw people in waves.