Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency: Kolkata Police has imposed strict restrictions on Dharmatala premises for the next 60 days! The police administration said that this decision has been taken due to the fear of possible protests, unrest and deterioration of law and order. Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nanda has issued this order under Section 163 of the Indian Civil Protection Code (INPC). This order will be effective from July 2 to August 30.
According to the police order, during this period, five or more people will not be allowed to gather in a specific area of Dharmatala. At the same time, no permission will be given for any kind of procession, meeting, dharna, protest or political program. Not only that, carrying sticks, firearms or any other dangerous weapons has also been banned. No such work can be done, which may disturb public peace, increase the suffering of the common people or cause obstruction to traffic.
Kolkata Police claims that according to reliable sources, there is a possibility of violent protests or major unrest in the area in the next few weeks! In that situation, this decision has been taken as a precautionary measure.
According to the administration, Dharmatala is one of the busiest areas of Kolkata. Thousands of people use this road every day. If there is a large political gathering there, public life may be disrupted and the law and order situation may also deteriorate. Therefore, this ban has been issued considering the larger public interest.
This order covers the specific areas under the Bowbazar Police Station, Hare Street Police Station and Sadar Traffic Guard. This ban will be effective in a wide area from KC Das Intersection to Victoria House and CESC Office. However, this order is not in force for Bentinck Street!
The police also said that it is not possible to deliver notices separately to such a large number of people. Therefore, this order has been issued unilaterally under Section 163 of the Indian Civil Protection Code. This order has been published for the public through the media, the Kolkata Police Gazette and the notice boards of various police stations.
The biggest impact of this decision is on the July 21 Martyrs' Day program. Like every year, this year too, Kalighat Trinamool has sought permission from the police to hold a meeting in front of Victoria House in Dharmatala. The Trinamool camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee has also applied for permission to hold a meeting at the same place. But the Kolkata Police has clearly stated that it is not possible to allow any political meeting or program by blocking the road in a busy area like Dharmatala. As a result, permission was not given to both the parties to hold the meeting.
There was a lot of discussion in political circles around this decision. Because, due to the division that has arisen within the Trinamool this year, there was tension from the beginning over the July 21 program. There had been a long-running tussle between the two camps over who would be in control of this traditional program and where to hold the meeting.
Last Sunday, that tension was also visible in public. Some leaders and workers of Kalighat Trinamool went in front of Victoria House in Dharmatala and started marking the possible meeting venue with tape. It is alleged that this work on the busy road caused traffic disruption and caused problems for the common people.
The next day, Chief Minister Shuvendu Adhikari expressed his anger over this incident in the assembly. He questioned how such work was done on such a busy road. After that, the police administration became more active. A case was also filed against Dola Sen, Kunal Ghosh and some Trinamool leaders for blocking the road and marking the meeting. And the next day, Lalbazar announced that permission would not be given for the July 21 meeting in Dharmatala.
According to a section of political observers, this decision has temporarily put an end to the fears of a clash between the two grassroots camps around July 21. This is because the administration fears that there is a strong possibility of the law and order situation becoming complicated due to separate political gatherings of the two parties in the same area on the same day.