Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee on Thursday threatened to paralyse the city on December 5 by bringing out a massive rally to protest the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government?s role in the eviction of squatters from Gobindapur Rail Colony and its alleged failure in some key sectors.

Mamata held two public meetings in Bowbazar and Shyambazar under the banner of the anti-CPM platform ? Paschim Banga Ganatantrik Front ? floated with ally BJP and about 10 other small parties. She will hold two more meetings in the city on Friday.

The shanty dwellers of Gobindapur colony, on railway land along Rabindra Sarobar, on Thursday welcomed the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government?s offer to provide them with an alternative site, but the response also held a degree of scepticism.

A squatter’s child plays on the rail tracks. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Local MLA and key crusader for the shanty-dwellers Sougata Roy said the state government?s intention of looking for alternative land was communicated to him.

?The state government has told us it is looking for alternative land to rehabilitate the squatters. It has said it wants a detailed discussion with me on the matter. The date and time of the meeting has not been fixed yet,? said Roy.

The fate of the 20,000-odd dwellers of 556 shanties seems uncertain, with the high court ordering them to vacate the site by November 30.

Throwing a lifeline to the shanty-dwellers who face an eviction drive, municipal affairs minister Asok Bhattacharya has said the government will provide alternative land where the squatters can be relocated.

?We have asked the refugee rehabilitation department to identify a site. The government is not bound to rehabilitate these squatters, since they are encroaching on railway land and they are not our responsibility. But we are doing this on humanitarian grounds,? Bhattacharya said.

?If the administration provides us with an acceptable site, where all the squatters can be housed, we will think about it. But this has to be done fast, since the judiciary is involved in the case and we face a November 30 deadline. We don?t have much time on our hand,? said legislator Roy.