The Majerhat bridge could have been inaugurated nine months ago had the railway not delayed providing the necessary permission, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday.

“We have been meeting (the railway) every day for nine months seeking clearance for the project. Paye dhoreychhi je clearance dao (Have held their feet seeking clearance),” Mamata said at Nabanna.

“This could have been done nine months back. The railway didn’t give permission at the right time. For over two years people of Behala and south Calcutta have suffered so much.”

The chief minister made the statement on a day some BJP supporters held a rally at Majerhat demanding the opening of the bridge.

The Majerhat bridge, which has replaced the one that collapsed in September 2018, has cleared a “load test”. The state government can fix a date for inauguration after the railway gives its nod.

The BJP supporters gathered around the bridge and started pulling down guardrails that have been put up to prevent any movement along the service roads around the bridge for safety reasons. Some allegedly attacked the police and damaged two-wheelers parked along the road. “We tried telling the protesters that the guardrails had been put up to restrict movement around the bridge and prevent any mishap,” a police officer said. “But they refused to listen and kept pulling them down.”

With the peak-hour traffic hit by the agitation — on a day when the Left-backed unions were observing a state-wise bandh — a strong contingent of police arrived and shoved away the protesters, led by Kailash Vijayvargiya, the party’s national general secretary. The police removed him but the leader claimed he was arrested.

“For nine months the railway didn’t give permission (for the project), were the BJP party workers sleeping then?” Mamata asked. “The PWD has completed its task. But it is still not ready. There are some technical points that the railway has to clear because of the railway tracks below.”

The chief minister made it clear that the delay was not because of the state but for the Centre.

“The delay is because of the BJP’s politics. Residents of Behala and other areas have been harassed… There are some clearances (from the railways) that are still required and it will take around seven days. Since railway tracks are below we have to take clearance (from the railway). So it is (the inauguration of the bridge) is not in our hands.”

PWD officials said they were hoping for a quick response from the railway since a team of engineers had visited the bridge when the load test was on. State PWD minister Aroop Biswas said the railways should not delay the clearance as the central utility had supervised the construction of the bridge over the railway tracks.

“We have given a total of Rs 33.29 crore to the railways…. Of which, Rs 7.30 crore was given for supervising construction of the bridge. Now, they should not delay the approval to inaugurate the bridge as they themselves have supervised the construction,” said Biswas.