The long queue of vehicles near Malda’s Adina More during Thursday’s blockade. Picture by Surajit Roy

April 19: Nearly 15,000 people were held up for more than five hours on a national highway in Malda today as police refused to act against those who set up a blockade and travellers had to stay put under the summer sun in an area with little roadside amenities.

A blockade was also set up in neighbouring South Dinajpur for four hours on a state highway.

Despite a directive from the state director-general of police in August last year to book persons for blocking national highways, the Malda police did not start any case on the grounds that they were “peaceful demonstrations”. Under the non-bailable Section 8B of the National Highways Act, 1956, offenders can face a prison term of up to five years for blocking national highways.

“We had to exercise great caution to handle the situation. There were schoolchildren who participated in the protest and the demonstration was peaceful. We could have baton charged to remove the blockade, but we did not want to use force on a peaceful demonstration. We did not want a law and order situation in our hands,” Malda police chief Jayanta Pal said.

Nearly 150 buses and taxis, cars and trucks numbering around 400 stood in queues at Adina More on NH34 from 9am. By noon, the temperature reached the 40 degrees Celsius mark. Transport sources said around 15,000 commuters were affected.

More than 500 people under the banner of the Adina Nagarik Mancha were demanding the halt of long-distance buses. More than 150 long-distance buses pass though Adina on NH34 but none stop. “They halt at Pandua, 5km away,” said a local resident.

Poulumi Saha, a resident of Malda town and a primary school teacher in Adina, said she had left for work around 9am. “I got stuck about 3km from Adina. It was getting hotter and hotter in the bus and I and my fellow passengers got off to escape the heat. I could not make it to school and could return home only around 4pm,” she said.

The 35km stretch of NH34 from Malda town to Adina has the settlements of Rathbari, Sukanta More, Mangalbari, Narayanpur and Pandua. About 13km of the highway — that connects Barasat on the northern fringes of Calcutta to Dalkhola in North Dinajpur — passes through Malda town before reaching Rathbari.

The area along the route is densely populated and water and food are readily available along the highway. But beyond Rathbari, the stretch becomes deserted. With the four-laning of the highway underway, most trees have been felled and shade was at a premium in some of the areas. People took shelter in the few roadside eateries and shop fronts during the blockade.

Ajay Gayen, a clerk with the Gajole block development office, about 35km from here, said he was left stranded at Adina. “I left Malda around 9.30am and got stuck in the blockade barely 6km from my office. I called up the BDO and told him that it was impossible to reach there on time,” he said.

He said he was astonished at the role of the police. “How can such a prolonged blockade of such an important national highway be allowed? The road was closed for over five hours and the police did nothing. If this goes on how can the general public lead their daily lives,” Gayen said.

Ujjwal Mondal, a leader of the Adina Mancha, said the blockade was carried out as the administration was apathetic to their demands. “Adina is a tourist spot with a deer park, forested areas and ancient ruins and it is important for buses to stop here,” Mondal said.

He said the blockade was lifted at 2pm after the regional transport officer called the Mancha and the bus owners’ associations for discussions at the district collectorate tomorrow.

But the Malda District Bus and Mini-bus owners’ Association president, Kajal Roy, said it was not possible for long-distance buses to stop at Adina. “We pay the state transport department Rs 7,000 a year to operate on long-distance routes. Now if we are forced to stop at all places, let the government waive that amount,” Roy said.

The blockade in South Dinajpur was at Singtore, in Kusmandi, about 70km from Balurghat, on the state highway to Raiganj.

The police said the blockade was put up after a four-year-old was electrocuted when he touched a 440 volt power cable around 8am today. The cable had been severed in a storm that caused damage to the Singtore area on Sunday night.

The blockade was set up at 9am and lifted around noon. The local people said the staff of the electric sub-station at Kusmandi had claimed that power to the cable had been disconnected.

Abhijit Chanda, divisional engineer of the West Bengal State Electric Supply and Distribution Limited in South Dinajpur, admitted that there was negligence on the part of the staff. “I have sent an officer to investigate and if anyone is found guilty, that person will not be spared,” he said.