Iron barrier falls, road to Mamata Banerjee’s home open to public | India News
Mamata Banerjee At Bhavanipur Fort – a quiet, but equally symbolic, shift unfolds across the street.The elaborate safety grid that had for years defined the approach to Didi’s home at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street in nearby Kalighat began to dissolve at a rapid pace. Along Harish Chatterjee Street, near the Hazra crossing, the metal scissor barricades that once carved the road into a controlled corridor have been pulled aside and stacked on edge.Police personnel who controlled entry, stopping residents and passers-by for questioning, were conspicuously absent in the morning.
For locals, the transformation was immediate, almost confusing. “We had to slow down, answer questions and carry Aadhaar cards. Relatives had to go around and we often alerted the police in advance of their arrival,” says a neighbor of Mamata.Tarun Chatterjee, another resident of the lane, wiped his eyes in disbelief. “Today when I was passing by Didi’s house, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The usual rush was absent. Then I saw bikes and cars moving freely. When I was passing by Mamata’s house, no one questioned me.”The narrow lanes connecting Harish Chatterjee Street to Kalighat Road – long closed in the name of safety – were also restored and reopened as routes that had remained impassable for years. “It was difficult for us to enter our own house due to high-profile security. Though we feel sad for our VVIP residents, we are also relieved,” said Sudeep Karmakar, another resident.Not far away, layers of security were lifted outside the home of Mamata’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who is the TMC general secretary and MP. Police deployment outside Abhishek’s office on Camac Street in central Kolkata has also been reduced.The rollback of this security architecture, built since Mamata’s second term in 2016, was expected by few due to political unrest. For more than 15 years, Bhavanipur was the TMC’s unassailable stronghold, where electoral contests often felt like formalities.
