Buses block road - Ransacked vehicles on display

The queue of CSTC and CTC buses damaged in last Friday’s bandh. Picture by Amit Datta

A Citu “exhibition” for the past two days on a busy thoroughfare has been disrupting traffic in the heart of the city.

The trade union wing of the CPM has chosen Esplanade Row to assemble 32 CSTC and CTC buses that were reportedly damaged by Trinamul Congress supporters during Friday’s bandh, called to protest the Nandigram firing.

A Citu leader said the vehicles, with smashed windscreens and windowpanes, have been on display since Wednesday to “drive home the vandalism perpetrated by Trinamul supporters on bandh day”.

The road, between Raj Bhavan’s east gate and the CR Avenue-Lenin Sarani crossing, is one of the busiest thoroughfares in the area. Traffic department officers are worried over the “political exhibition of state property” on such a stretch.

“The buses have blocked the entire passage, severely disrupting traffic flow. Motorists coming from the Eden Gardens-end are facing problems after taking a right turn. The area plunges into a mess during peak hours,” said an officer at Lalbazar.

The Citu had wanted to display the buses on a larger scale, but were restrained by police. “They wanted to assemble the buses on both sides of the road, which we did not allow,” said Jawed Shamim, deputy commissioner of police (traffic).

Trinamul MLA Partha Chatterjee said: “Our activists were not involved in ransacking the buses. The CPM should display the police firing in Nandigram on a giant screen.”