In Pictures: West Bengal Protests Against Citizenship Amendments

KOLKATA: A day after the Rajya Sabha cleared the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, protest erupted in Kolkata and different parts of Bengal on Thursday. Protesters blocked motorways and attacked several trains and stations in West Bengal on Saturday.

The railways authority issued a notice to not destroy the railway equipment. Violent protests continued in West Bengal through the weekend in which several buses and railway stations were destroyed.

On Sunday, protesters were reported to have blocked important roads like Newtown, Rajarhat. Incidents of violence were reported from Murshidabad, North 24 Paraganas districts, and rural Howrah, as per police officials. Angry protestors blocked Kona Expressway in Howrah that connects both NH6 (Mumbai Road) and NH2 (Delhi Road) to Kolkata, stated the police.

According to a railway official, twenty trains, including eight express trains, have been stopped at various stations in the South Eastern zone. Both private and public buses were reported to have been set on fire. The cancelled trains are 12847/12848 Howrah-Digha AC Exp, 12222 Howrah-Pune Duronto Exp, 120889 Howrah-Tirupati Humsafar Exp, 12860 Howrah-CSMT Geetanjali Exp, 22877 Howrah-Ernakulam Antodaya Exp and 22897/22898 Howrah-Digha-Howrah Kandari Exp.

Thousands participated in protests organised by several civil rights groups like the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights here and the Banglar Sanskriti Mancha in Birbhum. Uluberia railway station of Howrah district was allegedly vandalised by anti-CAA protesters. Incidents of fire and stone pelting led to various train services being disrupted.

Multiple long distance and local trains in the Howrah section were stranded due to the violence. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday urged people to maintain peace and warned that strict action will be taken against the people found indulging in violence.

Today, CM Mamata Banerjee is leading a rally from Jadavpur 8B bus stand to Bhawanipore of South Kolkata area against the citizenship amendments. This comes in continuation of her rally yesterday from Dharmatala to Jorasankho of North Kolkata.

Students of Jadavpur University in West Bengal also protested against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Students of Jadavpur University and Presidency University took out separate rallies in Kolkata against the police action inside the Jamia Millia Islamia campus in Delhi. Jadavpur University Teachers Association is supporting the students’ protest. Today a huge ‘MASHAL RALLY’ is being organised by various students’ unions. The rally will start from Esplanade and will end at Sealdah.