The heart of Calcutta was brought to a grinding halt by protestors for hours on Tuesday evening.

A “carnival of protest (Droher Carnival)” that was supposed to have been confined to Rani Rashmoni Avenue spilled out into multiple adjoining thoroughfares. Contiguous with the “carnival” were human chains at Chowringhee Square and the Dorina Crossing.

The Joint Platform of Doctors, an association of senior medics, had called for the “carnival” and the West Bengal Junior Doctors’ Front had given a call for forming human chains.

By 11.30am on Tuesday, police erected a series of iron barriers chained together across Rani Rashmoni Avenue. The police had on Monday night imposed Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita — the equivalent of Section 144 of the erstwhile CrPC — on Rani Rashmoni Avenue and several nearby roads to prevent gatherings.

The Joint Platform of Doctors approached Calcutta High Court challenging the curb. A vacation bench of Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur set aside the police notification. “If you allow one carnival (organised by the state), you cannot stop another. The police have to take care of both,” the judge said.

The state government organised the Durga Puja carnival on Red Road, almost a stone’s throw from the venue of the other “carnival”. The “barricades and/or guard rails between Rani Rashmoni Avenue and Red Road” will be in place, the court said, to “ensure that no breach of peace occurs”.

The barricades on Rani Rashmoni Road were removed following the court order. A crowd of protesters who had assembled well before the scheduled starting time of 4pm cheered the removal.

As the evening progressed, a sea of heads, waving placards and the Tricolour, was all that one could see at Esplanade. Multiple small rallies converged on a stretch of Chowringhee Road where junior doctors are fasting on a stage. The rallies then headed towards Rani Rashmoni Avenue. The crowd spilled on several adjoining roads.

In response to the call from the junior doctors, thousands had joined hands by 4.30pm to form human chains at the Dorina Crossing and Chowringhee Square. The human chains remained in place for more than three hours.

“We want justice” slogans and the song “We shall overcome” reverberated across the roads.

The result: traffic was brought to a standstill on Central Avenue, SN Banerjee Road, Lenin Sarani and Chowringhee Road. People headed home from work were stranded on the road. Some of the commuters waiting in buses and cabs said they supported the doctors’ protest.

The number of people on the road was proof of people’s support for the doctors’ movement, said Debashis Halder, a senior resident at Medical College Kolkata and one of the faces of the protest.

“The fast has been going on. Four junior doctors had to be admitted to hospital. Two of us joined the fast today as well. We will ensure that the victim gets justice and our demands are met,” said Halder.

“It is surprising that while we are on a hunger strike, chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who was barely five minutes away from Esplanade, did not even bother to try and get in touch with us to resolve this impasse,” said Halder.

Two junior doctors — Rumelika Kumar, 29, a postgraduate trainee at the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, and Spandan Kumar, 28, a postgraduate trainee at Midnapore Medical College and Hospital — joined the fast till death on Tuesday.

Manas Gumta, a protesting senior doctor, told Metro: “The police and the state administration had tried their level best to prevent this carnival of protest. I wonder what the state is so scared of. The demands of our junior colleagues are justified. All it takes is a positive approach and willingness to execute.”

A section of protesters gathered around the deputy commissioner, central, Kolkata Police, Indira Mukherjee, who was standing at the Dorina crossing, and started shouting slogans like “police go back”.

Mukherjee, who the victim’s parents and the protesting junior doctors have accused of sharing false information about the RG Kar case, eventually left the area.

Rishra resident Mrinal Kanti Aas was in the crowd on Rani RashmoniAvenue.

Aas, who runs a shop that sells electrical fitments and accessories, kept his shop closed for the day to be at Esplanade.

“I have a daughter. People like us have no other option but to register our protest by coming out on the streets,” Aas said.