Kolkata: The scenes that were apparent some decades ago came back to haunt the city of Kolkata once again on Wednesday. It was Mamata Banerjee, then a loud opposition voice who advocated for a congestion-free city, who was now at the centre stage of the conundrum.
While it was decided that Trinamool Congress' second most powerful personality Abhishek Banerjee would hold a meeting at the Esplanade area — where most of the offices are housed — the chief minister herself sat on a dharna at the foot of BR Ambedkar statue to voice her concerns against the functioning of the Centre led by Narendra Modi. The two places have hardly a few hundred metres away in between.
This is not all that could completely paralyse the city. More was in store for the hapless people who voted both the incumbent and the opposition to the podium. If it is the central part of the city that was clogged by the two heavyweights of the ruling party, opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari and BJP mandarins of the state packed the five-point crossing of Shyambazar to paralyse the traffic moving to and fro north 24 Parganas to the heart of the city. This made the situation worse for the commuters.
With both Trinamool and BJP showing strengths in turns, the almost decimated Congress and Left Front also couldn't stay away from hogging some limelight on the day of the political circus. Around noon, Left-Congress workers and supporters hit the streets with their demands causing heavy traffic snarls in Moulali, Entally, Sealdah, APC Road, and Park Circus area of Central Kolkata.
Besides these, the job aspirants who were deprived of legitimate jobs thanks to rampant corruption in the recruitment process also staged protests in the Esplanade area, a stone's throw distance away from the meeting venue. Barely 100 metres from Abhishek Banerjee's meeting venue, there were DA (dearness allowance) candidates who congregated like any other day with their unflinching attitude and great gumption.
Turning attention to the commuters and office-goers will shed light on how people suffered through the day. With Shyambazar's five-point crossing blocked, it virtually cut the vein that connects the city of joy with north 24 Paragans, putting commuters in deep trouble.
With a number of universities, schools and colleges cancelling exam schedules and speculating travelling woes (though the reason for the cancellation wasn't mentioned in the notices), officer-goers too were not spared of the ordeal they would love to avoid. People were seen chasing a handful of buses plying with TMC supporter-packed matadors rampaging on the roads with Abhishek Banerjee and Mamata Banerjee cut-outs held high.
Today may be a one-off day, but tomorrow (Thursday) also doesn't show much promise with the charismatic chief minister slated to conclude her 30-hour dharna.
