The Assembly elections are still several weeks away, but the central forces are already at work.
On Thursday, the forces marched through pockets of Amherst Street, Burrabazar, Posta, Kasba, Gariahat, and Rabindra Sarobar. A senior officer from the local police station under the Kolkata Police escorted the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) team during the route marches.
Thursday evening, Metro joined a team of 10 CRPF personnel as they walked the lanes, bylanes, and the thoroughfares at Lake Gardens, which is part of the Rashbehari Assembly constituency.
Route
The forces arrived at 5.40pm after signing out of their previous assignment. A few members took a quick break to buy gamchas (thin, coarse cotton towels) from a shop near the Lake Gardens police station. After a brief interaction with senior police officers at the station and a quick group photo, the route march began.
A senior officer of the Kolkata Police in a white uniform led the team in olive green. With AKs and SLRs slung across their shoulders, the CRPF team marched down lanes and bylanes.
The team marched through Rahim Ostagar Lane, Gobindapur Road, Lake Gardens Market, Jodhpur Gardens, Charu Chandra Place, and Gariahat Road, keeping to one side of the roads and lanes that buzzed with evening crowds and curious onlookers.
Along the route, the marching contingent slowed where crowds had gathered, outside shops, tea stalls, near the entrance to a Trinamool party office, and markets. The members, some clutching lathis, looked around, exchanged some stern glances and moved on.
“Marching down the roads is comparatively easier. In the jungles of Chhattisgarh, you tread with caution. IEDs may remain planted,” said a CRPF personnel. “In Calcutta, you don’t have to carry a load of around 12 kilos on your back, including five to six litres of drinking water, during a route march,” he said.
Interaction with locals
The Kolkata Police officer, leading the team, stopped at a shop on Charu Chandra Place during the march. The CRPF members surrounded him, breaking away from a line.
“Aap thik hain (Are you alright)? Koi problem (Any problem)? Koi dhamka raha hain? (anyone threatening you?),” asked the officer.
R.K. Pandit, the shop owner, smiled. “It’s fine out here. There’s no problem. Sab thik hain.”
Pandit later said he has been running the shop for nearly four decades. This was the first time a police officer with central forces stopped to enquire about him ahead of the polls.
Some 15 minutes later, the marching team stopped at the AK Ghosh Memorial School in Jodhpur Gardens. The officer called for a man. The CRPF personnel took positions at the main entrance. A man walked out.
“How many polling booths are here? Has the mobile team contacted you? Are you facing any problems?” a CRPF officer asked.
Sudharshan Kumbhakar, employee of a local school, said there were no issues. The CRPF team looked around the school and moved on.
Video recording
A man holding his mobile phone and following the team stopped at multiple points along the route to take pictures.
The interactions were captured in video mode and saved in a folder with the pictures. Lanes, bylanes, some of the landmarks, including a Hanuman mandir, a cooperative housing society, a local club, the march down the main entrance of Dakshinapan — everything was captured.
“Each of these videos and pictures will be uploaded and sent to the election cell in Lalbazar. The technology is such that when one clicks on a photograph, the latitude, longitude, date, and time immediately appear,” the photographer said.
Reports to Lalbazar
The march ended at 6.35pm. Some CRPF personnel settled for tea at a local shop, while others drank only cold water.
Senior police officers said the daily report will comprise details of the places covered during the exercise, including whether they are trouble-prone, vulnerable or otherwise. It would also mention visits to a polling premise, the number of shanties covered and the next day’s routine.