A ‘human chain’ in the central business district of Kolkata on Thursday afternoon is set to disrupt traffic while renewing a pledge to keep ‘majoritarian forces’ at bay.
Esplanade to Moulali via SN Banerjee Road is the site of the human chain to mark a year of the farmers’ protests.
“We appeal to everyone to join the human chain from Esplanade to Moulali on November 25 at 1pm. We support the farmers in saying that a television announcement isn't enough. The government has to scrap the three farm laws legally in Parliament and ensure legal guarantee for MSP (minimum support price),” said Kasturi Basu, part of Bengal Against Fascist RSS-BJP.
On November 19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in a televised speech announced the withdrawal of the three farm laws and urged the farmers to go home.
But taking a cue from the protesting farmers, the organisation which was behind the No-Vote-to-BJP campaign in the run-up to the Bengal polls, has decided to go ahead with the human chain programme.
Three mini trucks at different points of the chain will act as makeshift stages on Thursday, from where speeches and songs will be delivered.
A poster for Thursday’s human chain
Expressing apprehension about the resultant traffic snarl, Abhishek Sengupta, who daily drives down to his office in Esplanade from Behala towards late morning, said: “I will definitely check the timing of the protest and chalk out my schedule accordingly. Either I will take a detour to my office or make it a point to reach early to avoid getting stuck in the commotion.”
The 32-year-old corporate executive opined that protests should either be organised on weekends or be held in large open places like grounds.