Rallies hold Siliguri traffic to ransom

TT, Siliguri: Three back-to-back political rallies in Siliguri from Friday through Sunday added to people's traffic woes as roads in the town and the surroundings were chock-ablock.

Hundreds of people had come down to Siliguri in support of Trinamul and the Left Front and walked through main thoroughfares.

"Ahead of Durga Puja, thousands visit markets in Siliguri. We had to face a lot of inconveniences over the past few days as three political rallies were held. I feel parties should refrain from such activities before the festival," said Pradip Chakraborty, a retired government employee.

The Left rally in Siliguri on Sunday. (Passang Yolmo) On Sunday, the Darjeeling district Left Front took out a rally from Bagha Jatin Park in protest against "unofficial financial embargo" by the state government on the Siliguri Municipal Corporation and death of two youths in a clash at Daribhit. Trinamul had held a "Maha Michil" (mega rally) on Sunday, while another march was organised by the Trinamul Chhatra Parishad on Friday.

Traffic was disrupted along Kutcheri Road, Hill Cart Road, Bidhan Road and parts of Sevoke Road during the rallies. It took a couple of hours for the traffic to return to normal.

Asked whether the CPM rally was a show of strength, a party leader said: "We have nothing to do with Trinamul's rally because our programme was pre-scheduled and we had necessary permission from the administration. We don't think it has created much trouble for people as traffic was less on the road with Sunday being a holiday."