Kolkata braces for over 35 rallies including TMC chief Mamata Banerjee’s Sampriti Rally on Monday

As Kolkata is bracing for over 35 rallies on Monday, the Kolkata Police in a massive security arrangement has taken several steps to prevent any untoward incidents in and around the city.

During the day, Kolkata will witness West Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s ‘Sampriti Rally’ and 35 other processions.

4,000 policemen will be deployed on city roads and several traffic diversions have been planned to ensure that commuters do not face problems, according to a report by PTI citing a senior officer.

The proposed rallies will pass through Bhowanipore, Camac Street, Sealdah, Garfa, Patuli, Sakuntala Park, and the port areas, it added. 

“Normally, we witness a heavy rush of office-goers on Mondays because it's the first day of the week. Tomorrow, since we have a large number of rallies, a decision has been made to deploy 4,000 policemen on the roads to ensure smooth traffic flow,” the officer said, as per the report. 

For TMC's ‘Sampriti Rally’, which will start around 3 pm from Hazra crossing and pass through Hazra Road and Syed Amir Ali Avenue to reach Park Circus Maidan, there will be two layers of security due to the presence of the Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

To maintain the law and order, all the rallies will be videographed and policemen will accompany them.

To deal with any untoward situation in the city, additional forces have also been put on standby in each division under Kolkata Police jurisdiction.

“All police stations have been instructed to remain alert throughout the day. Police stations where pujas and rallies are scheduled have been asked to be extra cautious,” the officer told PTI. 

Most of the schools located along the rally routes in the city have either suspended classes or arranged for virtual classes to ensure that neither students nor teachers face any difficulties.