• Traffic moved
• Many students attended schools
• People who wanted to reach their offices did

Unlike many years in the past, this July 21 — a usual red-letter day in Bengal’s work calendar — was different.

Many feel the 9am-11am window created by Calcutta High Court, when entry of rallyists into the city was not allowed, yielded results.

Vehicular traffic was almost normal across the city during this period, allowing commuters to reach their destinations and start their day as usual.

Public transport was sparse. Wait time was long, but those on the road were
moving.

Justice Tirthankar Ghosh had ordered the police to ensure smooth traffic between 9am and 11am, so that employees of offices within a 5km radius of the court could report to work.

Rally participants on July 21 were asked to arrive at Esplanade before 8am or after 11am.

On Monday, the police did their bit to comply with the court order.

All major processions towards the rally venue at Esplanade were not allowed to start before 10.50am or later so traffic was not affected before 11am.

“We had strict instructions to comply with the court order. We did not allow any procession to take the roads during this two-hour window and tried our best to keep the traffic moving,” a senior officer of the traffic department said.

Sanjib Biswas, 52, a resident of Agarpara on the northern outskirts of Calcutta, reached his Chandni Chowk office on time. “I took an auto to BT Road and then a bus to Baranagar Metro (station). Still made it to the office by 10.20am — my usual time,” said Biswas, the chief accountant at an IT support company.

Those who depended on public transport had to wait. The reason was not traffic snarls but the lack of public transport on the roads.

A 37-year-old private bank employee from Dum Dum, stranded at Rabindra Sadan for over 30 minutes, said: “I got down at Rabindra Sadan by 9.30am and need to reach Mandirtala by 11. How’s that possible if I’m still waiting for a bus?”

A resident of Prince Anwar Shah Road said she saw many buses on route 37 parked along the road near Jodhpur Park market. “None of them were taking commuters. They had all been reserved to ferry Trinamool supporters to the rally,” she said.

A Kasba resident said he saw only a handful of autos and not a single bus at the Gariahat intersection between 10.15 and 10.30am. A government bus arrived a little past 10.30. The Kasba-Howrah minibuses were parked at Kasba Rathtala but reserved for Trinamool supporters.

Many were forced to pay a premium to yellow taxis in the absence of enough buses and autos.

“At least the taxi was not stuck. Earlier, I had terrible experiences on this day. So I had started early. But today, once I got the cab, the traffic was smooth,” said a resident of Ballygunge who works in the Park Street area.

Schools in central Calcutta had shut down or switched to online mode, but those outside the rally perimeter had considerable attendance compared to other years.

MP Birla Foundation Higher Secondary School had 80 per cent attendance in the second shift, which starts at 11.15am. The nine school buses and those coming in car pools arrived on time, school officials said.

Those who stayed away were mostly from areas in central Calcutta like Burrabazar, Esplanade and Park Street, said a school official.

The Newtown School recorded 50 per cent attendance. Most of those who attended school were residents of New Town.

The parent-teacher meeting at South Point High School scheduled at 11.30am on Monday was conducted smoothly. Almost all parents and students turned up, a school
official said.