Traffic on the EM Bypass-Rashbehari Avenue Connector was disrupted for several hours from Friday afternoon till late evening as various groups and political parties staged protests and road blockades outside South Calcutta Law College and Kasba police station.
They were protesting against the alleged gang-rape of the 24-year-old student. The ripple effects of the groups blocking the road or shrinking its width were felt till Gariahat and beyond.
The Rashbehari-Ruby Connector is an important arterial road connecting the city's east to the rest of Calcutta. Hundreds of vehicles headed to and from Sector V, New Town, Garia and other areas along EM Bypass use the road daily.
Police sources said that both flanks of the connector outside Kasba police station were blocked by the protesters for about 15 minutes in the afternoon. A long queue of vehicles formed on both flanks.
A police officer said that snarls formed till the western end of Bijon Setu, near its crossing with Cornfield Road.
Vehicles headed towards Ruby from Gariahat were diverted via Park Circus and then to EM Bypass for some time in the afternoon. "There was already a long queue of vehicles on the connector. Allowing more vehicles to take the same route would have added to the snarls. The vehicles had to be diverted," said the officer.
On the Gariahat-bound flank, a queue of vehicles had formed till GST Bhavan.
The protests and the rallies started in the afternoon. First, a delegation of Congress supporters blocked the Ruby-bound flank outside Kasba police station. But cops managed to clear the road after some time.
Later, supporters and activists of the Democratic Students' Organisation (DSO) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) protested outside the law college. "There were processions by groups of protesters from the college to the police station. As they walked, the vehicles moved behind them very slowly. This further increased the queue of vehicles."
A police officer said that even when the road blockades were lifted, vehicles moved very slowly. "A lot of people were assembled on both flanks outside Kasba police station. A single lane was free for vehicles," said the officer.