Murtaj Sheikh, a 60-year-old resident of Farakka, had to walk nearly 3km on Saturday afternoon with his fractured arm in a sling to catch a bus after a medical review at the Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital in Behrampore.
The ordeal followed the temporary shifting of the town bus stand some 3km away from its usual location as part of security arrangements for a Trinamool Congress roadshow led by the party’s national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee.
Ranjit Murmu, 30, of Sagardighi, faced a similar hardship. After being dropped nearly 2km ahead of Behrampore by a bus from Beldanga, Murmu and his wife were forced to walk around 5km to board a homebound bus, carrying their sacks loaded with household items on their heads.
Sheikh and Murmu were among thousands subjected to severe inconvenience on Saturday because of traffic restrictions imposed by the police administration to facilitate Abhishek’s road show.
To ensure security, the town bus stand was shifted roughly 3km away, and buses were barred from entering the town from 7am to 5pm. The sweeping restrictions were imposed to arrange a roadshow spanning barely 300 metres from the bus stand to Church More. With e-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws also prohibited from operating in the town during the period, commuters were left with no alternative but to walk long distances.
On the eastern side of Behrampore, buses halted at Panchanantala. On the west, buses stopped at Uttarpara, where the bus stand was temporarily shifted. The distance between Panchanantala and Uttarpara is around 5km, which many had to cross by walking.
Walking slowly with his injured arm supported by a sling, Sheikh said: “Politicians are always the first priority, not people.”
Describing his experience, the Farakka resident added: “In the morning, I walked 3km to reach the hospital because buses were not allowed to enter Behrampore. Now, on my way back home, I again have to walk the same distance by walking to catch a Farakka-bound bus. There was no rickshaw in the town. I heard that the police blocked all roads for a political meeting. Political leaders claim they are sympathetic to people, but thousands like me have seen the hard reality today(Saturday).”
Murmu and his wife, balancing sacks on their heads, echoed similar sentiments. “Had I known about this event, I would not have come today. I have to walk about 5km to reach a Farakka-bound bus at the other end of the town,” Murmu said.
Shahrukh Sheikh of Jangipur said his five-year-old daughter had been admitted to Murshidabad Medical College Hospital and was discharged around 11am. “I had to walk 3km carrying my daughter in my arms just to catch a bus,” he said.
Acknowledging the chaos, Tapan Adhikari, secretary of the Baharampur Bus Owners’ Association, said: “The traffic police instructed us that no bus would be allowed to enter beyond Panchanantala. On the other side, buses were also barred from entering Behrampore town from the Uttarpara intersection. If the police do not allow buses to run, how can we operate? Common people have been affected badly and we have seen their suffering.”
Additional superintendent of police (Traffic) Shyamal Kumar Mondal played down the inconvenience.
“We had spoken to the bus owners’ association. There was a gathering at the bus stand, so we asked them to restrict movement as far as possible. Since buses could not enter due to the crowd, they were told to stay outside. But we have no information that common people suffered inconvenience,” he said.
Amid mounting criticism, Trinamool Congress Kandi MLA Apurba Sarkar and the party’s Murshidabad district president sought to distance the party from the traffic arrangements while expressing regret.
“The traffic management plan was made by the police, in which we had no role. Nevertheless, we are extremely sorry that people suffered badly due to restrictions on buses and vehicle movement,” Sarkar said.