Senior Trinamul Congress leader and urban development & municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim faced public outrage in Nadia’s poll-bound Kaliganj on Monday afternoon as angry villagers blocked his convoy to protest the dilapidated condition of a key road in the area.
They alleged that the local administration never bothered to repair the road despite their repeated appeals.
The incident took place in Ashachia village under Hatgachha gram panchayat, where residents used bamboo poles to barricade a muddy, nearly impassable stretch of road.
Hakim, accompanied by Trinamool’s Midnapore MP June Malia, had arrived in the area to campaign for the party’s Kaliganj bypoll candidate, Alifa Ahmed. The bypoll is scheduled for June 19.
The blockade brought the convoy — including an open-hood jeep with the minister and MP — to an abrupt halt. Tensions flared as villagers, expressing years of frustration, confronted the entourage and declared their intent to boycott the June 19 bypoll unless urgent action was taken to repair the road.
The standoff led to a brief altercation among villagers, cops and TMC supporters, but the situation was defused after Hakim stepped out and spoke with protesters, assuring them that the road repair would be taken up after the bypoll. Following his words, villagers lifted the blockade. Hakim soon left the area.
"For the past 15 years, this road has been in the same miserable state,” said protester Momin Mondal. “In 2016, the Congress won from Kaliganj and the MLA later joined the TMC, but nothing changed. Even after the TMC won the last Assembly polls, many parts of the road remained inaccessible. We approached the panchayat repeatedly, but in vain. We had no choice but to block the road to draw the minister’s attention.”
Sources said though Hakim was embarrassed, he stayed calm while talking to villagers. “I heard your grievances. I assure you the road work will be taken up after the bypoll,” he said.
BJP Nadia district spokesperson Sandip Majumdar scoffed at the ruling party. "This single protest shows how deep the anger runs against the Trinamool. That anger will be reflected in the EVMs on June 19,” he said.