Traffic was thrown out of gear in the heart of the city for nearly three hours on Thursday afternoon after a section of state government employees blocked the Dorina crossing at Esplanade, demanding the immediate release of their pending dearness allowance (DA).
Members of the Sangrami Joutha Mancha, which spearheaded the protest, have also called a strike on March 13 and threatened to paralyse the functioning of the state government offices and courts that day.
“This was a semi-final. The final will be played on March 13,” said Bhaskar Ghosh, convenor of the platform.
The blockade was lifted around 4pm, nearly three hours after around 1,500 employees gathered at the SN Banerjee Road-Jawaharlal Nehru Road intersection. Police had stopped them from marching to Kalighat.
Harrowing experience
Commuters bore the brunt of the disruption.
Anup Bhowmik, 53, a resident of Bhowanipore who works at a hardware unit in Chandni Chowk, said he had been stuck in traffic on his motorcycle for nearly two hours.
“I got a call from my wife saying that my father had taken ill and needed to be hospitalised. But because of the road blockade and diversions, I can barely move,” he told Metro around 3.45pm. He was on Chowringhee Road near New Market.
Kanika Bhattacharya, 63, waited nearly two hours for a Behala-bound bus at Esplanade. “I have been waiting for a bus for two hours,” she said.
The police put up barricades at several points to prevent the protesters from moving beyond the Dorina crossing.
Curbs were imposed on Central Avenue near its intersection with BB Ganguly Street, Esplanade East, Rani Rashmoni Road, and the Lindsay Street-Chowringhee Road crossing.
Around 2.20pm, a drive from Girish Park to Chandni Chowk via BB Ganguly Street and Waterloo Street took over 30 minutes — nearly double the usual time.
Metro option
Many commuters turned to the Metro. Trains, especially on the Blue Line, were packed.
Protest demand
The protesters, including several retired employees and women, held discussions with senior police officers.
After the talks failed, they began demonstrating at the Dorina crossing, bringing Park Street-bound and Shyambazar-bound traffic to a halt.
“The entire country abides by the Supreme Court’s directives. In this state, there is only one court, that of the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee,” Ghosh said.
Earlier this month, a division bench of the Supreme Court directed the Bengal government to immediately clear 25% of the DA due to the state employees and release the first instalment of the remainder by March 31.
The directive, which underlined DA as a legal right rather than a discretionary benefit, would cover arrears accumulated between 2009 and 2019, and close to 20 lakh employees and pensioners would stand to benefit.
“Our main demand is that the Supreme Court’s verdict on the outstanding dearness allowance must be implemented immediately,” Ghosh said.
Traffic diversions
With the Dorina crossing blocked by the protesters, stretches of Jawaharlal Nehru Road, SN Banerjee Road and the Park Street flyover were shut to traffic.
The police diverted Esplanade-bound vehicles from the BB Ganguly Street–Central Avenue intersection towards Lalbazar, allowing them to proceed via Red Road.
Cars, buses, and other vehicles headed to Esplanade from Sealdah were instructed to avoid a clogged SN Banerjee Road and move further south towards AJC Bose Road and reach the Exide crossing.
Vehicles headed towards AJC Bose Road were allowed to move down Park Street.
“There was a religious procession on Mahatma Gandhi Road in the afternoon. As a result, vehicles headed for Strand Road and Howrah station from Raja Bazar had to be diverted towards the Exide crossing from the Sealdah flyover,” an police officer said.
With the Park Street flyover closed, vehicles were routed through Mayo Road and Strand Road.
The sudden surge in traffic slowed movement further, leaving many commuters frustrated.
“Vehicles are being diverted to Mayo Road, Ganesh Chandra Avenue and Grant Street to manage the situation,” a policeman at the spot said.