Kolkata traffic heavily disrupted as Mamata Banerjee’s dharna enters fourth day at Esplanade

Monday, March 9

Traffic movement in central Kolkata faced significant disruption on Monday as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee continued her indefinite sit-in protest for the fourth consecutive day at the Metro Channel–Esplanade–Dharmatala areaone of the city’s busiest transport hubs.

The protest, which began on March 6is being held near the Esplanade Metro stationa key junction connecting multiple arterial roads including Chowringhee Road, CR Avenue, Park Street and MG Road.

Lane restrictions near Metro Channel

To manage the protest site and crowd gathering, Kolkata Police has imposed lane restrictions around the Metro Channel stretch.

Traffic heading towards Shyambazar and Park Street has been limited to a single lane. Normally, two lanes carry southbound traffic from Esplanade, but authorities have temporarily split these lanes to accommodate protest infrastructure, including the stage and supporters gathered at the site.

The adjustments have slowed vehicle movement in the surrounding areas.

Diversions and congestion in central Kolkata

Traffic from Dharmatala towards CR Avenue and MG Road has been stopped or heavily restricted near the protest zone. Vehicles are being diverted to alternate routes, which has led to congestion across nearby corridors including Esplanade, Chowringhee, Dalhousie and Park Street.

Commuters travelling through central Kolkata during peak hours have reported delays as diverted traffic builds up along connecting roads.

Large crowds add to traffic pressure

The protest site has been witnessing large gatherings of leaders and workers from the Trinamool Congressalong with supporters arriving throughout the day.

Crowds typically start assembling from late morning and continue into the afternoon, creating bottlenecks around bus stands, pedestrian crossings and nearby commercial zones.

While Kolkata Metro services remain operationalroad access to surrounding bus routes and transport nodes has been partially affected.

Police deploy additional personnel

Authorities have deployed additional police personnel to manage both traffic flow and law-and-order situations in the area. Security checks and inspections were conducted before the protest setup, and sniffer dogs were also deployed as part of precautionary arrangements.

Police have advised commuters to avoid the Esplanade–Dharmatala zone where possible and use alternative routes such as AJC Bose Road, EM Bypass and other arterial roads.

Protest linked to voter list revision controversy

Banerjee’s dharna is aimed at protesting alleged voter name deletions during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission of India ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.

The Chief Minister has accused the electoral authorities and the Bharatiya Janata Party of attempting to disenfranchise voters, allegations that have been strongly rejected by the opposition.

Traffic disruptions in central Kolkata are expected to continue as long as the indefinite protest remains underway.