Calcutta High Court Balances Traffic and Tradition for TMC's Martyrs' Day

On Friday, the Calcutta High Court authorized processions ahead of the Trinamool Congress' annual Martyrs' Day rally, scheduled for July 21 in Kolkata, with the exception of a ban on processions between 8 am and 11 am.

According to the court's directive, processions are permitted within the Kolkata police jurisdiction until 8 am, with an hour allowed for settling crowds near Victoria House at Esplanade. From 9 am to 11 am, the police must ensure roads leading to the Calcutta High Court and within five kilometers of the city's central business district are free from traffic congestion.

With the rally expecting to gather around 10 lakh people, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh emphasized ensuring smooth traffic flow, directing the Kolkata police commissioner to adhere. Advocate General Kishore Dutta's request for a stay on the order was denied. The Martyrs' Day rally remembers a 1993 police firing incident involving protestors, led then by Mamata Banerjee as the Congress' youth wing leader.

(With inputs from agencies.)