Aug. 29: Calcutta High Court today told the National Highways Authority of India to ensure free traffic movement on Durgapur Expressway, clog- ged since Sunday because of Mamata Banerjee’s siege.

It can take the “assistance of the state government to ensure free traffic movement”, Justice Nadira Patheriya said.

The authority will go through the order and get in touch with the government. “We will take the state’s help to facilitate movement of traffic,” said S.C. Jindal, its chief general manager in Bengal.

Chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb said he could not comment before receiving a copy of the order. It usually takes 24 hours to get the copy.

The order followed a petition by transporters accusing police of not taking any action against Trinamul Congress supporters blocking the expressway. The lawyer appearing for the Calcutta Goods Transport Association said: “My cli- ent is facing a huge loss. Its fundamental right of free movement has been curbed.”

As lawyer Pratap Chatterjee spoke, Trinamul leader Kalyan Banerjee entered the courtroom and declared that he was representing his party.

Banerjee said: “The Trinamul movement doesn’t include blocking the highway. But lakhs of farmers and common people have joined the movement. If their presence blocks a road, what can the party do?”

On the first day of the siege, however, Mamata had asked her supporters to sleep on the road.

In Singur, Hooghly district magistrate Neelam Meena and police chief Rajeev Mishra went to the dharna dais this evening and requested leader of Opposition Partha Chatterjee to clear at least one lane. “But they (Trinamul leaders) told us a large number of supporters were occupying the expressway,” said Meena.

After the officials left, Mamata spoke. “We respect the high court order but we haven’t obstructed the road. We told the officials ‘you may clear the road and we will co-operate. But if an accident takes place while clearing the road, the administration will be responsible,” she said.

“A propaganda is on that we are blocking the road but it isn’t so. If people turn out in large numbers to listen to us, what can we do?”

The truckers expressed frustration at her refusal to budge. “We are clueless about what to do next,” said Satyajit Majumdar of the Federation of West Bengal Truck Operators’ Association.

Mamata said: “We shall fast here during the holy month of Ramazan, celebrate Durga puja and even Christmas. We shall not leave the place until 400 acres are returned.”

The Truck Owners’ Association of Bengal is seeking direct talks with Chatterjee. “We will meet Parthababu tomorrow with an appeal to clear one flank from 10pm to 6am,” said its secretary.

Drivers of heavy container trucks stranded in Burdwan’s Palsit protested when asked to take Kalyani Expressway via Memari. A scuffle ensued between the drivers of the larger container trucks and others around 1.30pm.

“Why should we make a detour for no fault of ours?” asked Shankar Yadav, 40, whose trailer has iron rods.

The superintending engineer of the PWD in Burdwan said the bigger trucks could not be allowed to enter GT Road because a culvert near Sugandha More might collapse under their weight.

A high court division bench headed by the chief justice asked Calcutta resident Rana Pratap Sarkar, who had sought its intervention to clear the road, to file an affidavit within a fortnight saying how the blockade was affecting him.

Inspector-general (law and order) Raj Kanojia said goods like life-saving drugs were being loaded on smaller vehicles about 10km from the siege site so they could reach Calcutta through GT Road.