Kolkata, February 26 A group of West Bengal government employees staged a protest on Thursday, blocking the important Dorina crossing at Esplanade here, demanding that they be paid dearness allowance as per a Supreme Court order.
The employees, under the banner of Sangrami Joutha Mancha (United Struggle Platform) and some other organizations, said their rally was intended to proceed to Hazra Park near Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence in Kalighat, but were stopped at Esplanade.
"Either we are allowed to reach our destination to meet senior state officials, or they come here to meet us," a leader of the platform said, refusing to comply with requests from senior police officers to disperse.
He said that despite the Supreme Court directing the West Bengal government to pay 25 per cent of the outstanding dearness allowance by March 6, the administration has yet to take any action.
Police set up barricades at Esplanade on the road towards Kalighat, preventing the protesters from moving forward.
Traffic was severely affected due to the blockade at Esplanade, leading to long traffic jams on the arterial Chittaranjan Avenue, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, and S N Banerjee Road.
In a relief for nearly 20 lakh government employees, the Supreme Court had directed the West Bengal government on February 5 to pay dearness allowance to them for the 2008-2019 period, stating that it is a legally enforceable right.
The apex court directed the state government to pay 25 per cent of the outstanding dearness allowance to its employees by March 6.
