Siliguri, May 2: Normal life was thrown out of gear for at least four hours as tension in the Court More area spilled onto Hill Cart Road.

In the morning, only the court premises had been cordoned off. However, after 10am no-entry signs were set up on Hill Cart Road as reports of stray incidents of violence trickled in from the Hashmi Chowk end.

While all public buses coming from outside the town were made to turn around from Air View More to Sevoke Road through Church Road, autorickshaws were allowed only till Darjeeling More. Commuters had to take detours and students had to walk long distances to get back home after school.

“I had to walk almost 2km,” a student of Siliguri College and a resident of Bagdogra said. “I had my political science (BA Part II) paper today and wanted to reach home early to prepare for tomorrow’s exam (Paper V). But because no transport was available from Court More, I had to walk a lot, which has not only taken time but has left me exhausted.”

Additional superintendent of police Rajesh Yadav said a check had to be put on vehicular traffic after there was a small flare-up in the Hashmi Chowk area. “Later traffic was allowed to resume normally within and outside the town,” he added.

Questions have been raised as to how the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters entered the town despite a heavy police bandobast.

“Despite a strong police vigil, the Morcha supporters, who were not permitted to sit on a hunger strike, managed to reach the court,” said Jibitesh Sarkar, a state committee member of the CPM. “If they would have been stopped at the entry points, this unpleasant situation would not have occurred.”

Sources said the supporters, who were from the outskirts of Siliguri like Bagdogra, Sukna, Salbari, Garidhura and Simulbari, had divided themselves into groups of two, three and four and took autos and rickshaws to reach the court. “Many even walked up pretending like they had come to register their land,” an intelligence official said.