Kolkata, Feb 26 (PTI) A section of West Bengal government employees on Thursday took to the streets and blocked the important Dorina crossing at Esplanade here, demanding that dearness allowance be paid to them as per a Supreme Court order.
The employees, under the banner of Sangrami Joutha Mancha (United Struggle Platform) and some other organisations, said their rally intended to go till Hazra Park near Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence, but were stopped at Esplanade.
“Either we are allowed to go to our destination to meet top officials of the state, or they come to meet us here,” a leader of the platform said, refusing to accede to requests by top police officers to disperse.
He said that despite the top court directing that the 25 per cent arrears of the DA be paid by the West Bengal government by March 6, the administration has yet to take any steps in this regard.
Police put up barricades at Esplanade on the road towards Kalighat, refusing to let the agitators move forward.
Vehicluar movement was seriously affected as the blockade in the heart of the city at Esplanade led to long traffic snarls on the arterial Chittaranjan Avenue, Jawaharlal Nehru Road and S N Banerjee Road.
In a relief to nearly 20 lakh government employees, the Supreme Court had on February 5 directed the West Bengal government to pay dearness allowance to them for the 2008-to-2019 period, saying it is a legally-enforceable right.
The apex court directed the state government to pay 25 per cent of the outstanding DA to its employees by March 6. PTI AMR RG
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