Calcutta, Oct. 29: Traffic in several parts of Calcutta was disrupted this morning as Mamata Banerjee’s supporters took to the streets in protest against the alleged attack on her convoy.

The protests were organised in small pockets at key intersections from 10.30, leaving commuters stranded.

At several places, the mob stoned government buses, forcing work-day passengers to run to safety.

“The protesters blocked several key junctions, forcing us to order immediate traffic diversions. But after a point, as the volume of traffic gradually increased, it became difficult to manage. Senior officers then rushed to different points and persuaded the protesters to withdraw their agitation. Only then did the gridlock ea-se,” said a senior traffic police officer.

Some of the of the worst hit points were intersections of Jheel Road and Cossipore Road in north Calcutta, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road and SN Banerjee Road in the heart of the city and Hazra Road and Kalighat in the south.

Additional forces had to be called for in central Calcutta as the mob there proved difficult to disperse.

“With their numbers increasing steadily at the SN Banerjee Road-Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road crossing, we called in additional forces from neighbouring police stations like Taltala and New Market,” a senior officer of South Traffic Guard said.

“Traffic gradually piled up on AJC Bose Road near Entally and working out diversions became difficult,” he added.

At Kalighat, Trinamul supporters smashed the glass panes of two buses.

People armed with Trinamul Congress flags held street-corner meetings, where their leaders took turns to slam the administration for failing to provide security to the state’s principal Opposition leader.

By noon, all the pockets of protest, including those in Maniktala and at the intersection of KK Tagore Street and Kalakar Street, had been cleared.