Municipal workers steered a yellow bulldozer into 121 Kalighat Road on Thursday morning, tearing down a temporary bamboo shed that encroached onto the public footpath outside Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee's residence.
The steel teeth tore through the bamboo frame. Workers moved in immediately behind the heavy machinery, hauling away splintered poles to clear the pedestrian walkway while technicians fired up gas cutters to dismantle an iron gate anchored outside the compound wall.
A heavy detachment of Kolkata Police personnel and central forces cordoned off the street, holding back crowds as the civic operation unfolded outside the TMC national general secretary's front gates.
The municipal operation targeted structures that had drawn persistent complaints from neighborhood residents. Pedestrians along the narrow Kalighat corridor argued the extended bamboo canopy choked the sidewalk, forcing foot traffic directly into congested vehicular lanes.
The standoff peaked after local tensions flared around the compound on November 6, when large crowds assembled beneath the temporary canopy to mark Banerjee's birthday.
By Wednesday evening, workers from Banerjee's own office had already begun untying bamboo lashings to take down portions of the shed. But municipal authorities refused to leave the clearance to private hands, deploying heavy machinery at dawn to level the remaining framework and slice through the iron gate.
| Site Parameter | Official Status / Action Taken |
|---|---|
| Location | 121 Kalighat Road, Kolkata |
| Primary Target | Temporary bamboo shed built over public footpath |
| Secondary Target | Iron gate dismantled with gas cutters over sidewalk encroachment |
| Deployed Units | Municipal civic teams, Kolkata Police, Central Forces |
| Original Builder | West Bengal Directorate of Security |
| Operational Trigger | Pedestrian obstruction complaints and security reclassification |
The Trinamool Congress insisted the canopy was neither illegal nor built by the lawmaker. Party leadership clarified that state security apparatus originally erected the shelter when Banerjee maintained top-tier protection.
The shed was constructed by the police. With the withdrawal of the additional security cover, the structure is no longer required. Therefore, arrangements are being made on behalf of Abhishek Banerjee to remove it.
Arka Nag, TMC Spokesperson
Nag emphasized that because the West Bengal Directorate of Security built the booth to shelter guard details during Banerjee's period under Z-plus security cover, the structure served purely protective purposes. Once the state scaled back those security protocols, the MP's office initiated dismantling procedures independently.
Civic authorities nonetheless stepped in with municipal machinery to expedite full right-of-way clearance across the Kalighat pavement.
The demolition lands in the middle of a sharp confrontation between Bengal's principal political forces. With the Bharatiya Janata Party now running the state government and the Trinamool Congress serving as the primary opposition, administrative actions around Kalighat carry intense political charge.
Tensions spiked on Wednesday when Banerjee publicly accused law enforcement units of mounting covert vehicular surveillance outside his home, posting video footage across social media platforms to support his claims. Hours later, police patrols converged on Kalighat Road, an arrival the TMC described as intimidation staged under the guise of monitoring shed removal.
With the footpath cleared and the iron gate removed, municipal teams completed their perimeter sweep, while police units maintain static deployment along Kalighat Road to prevent further disruptions.