Forty tribal organizations observed a 12-hour Bengal bandh today in protest against the proposed inclusion of the Kurmi community into the Scheduled Tribe category.
The bandh had mixed reactions in certain blocks of East Burdwan as the agitators halted traffic suddenly in several locations. Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamul Congress’s national general secretary had to get down from his vehicle at Dhatrigram crossing in Kalna due to the blockade, this afternoon.
Banerjee was heading towards Nadia from Hooghly as part of his Naba Jowar programme through Dhatrigram crossing where he was stranded for half an hour. Banerjee spoke to the picketers and received a memorandum from them. Bharat Zakat Adivasi Majhi Parghana led today’s tribal protest.