Trinamul Congress activists block the crossing of BB Ganguly Street and Chittaranjan Avenue on Wednesday. Picture by Amit Datta

The Calcutta commuter was caught between protest and the President on Wednesday. If traffic diversion to ensure smooth passage for President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s convoy didn’t slam the brakes, the rasta roko by Team Mamata sure did.

Even ambulances and schoolbuses suffered as “no entry” signs were put up by police all along the President’s route and then Mamata Banerjee’s men and women took to the streets from noon to 2 pm in a deliberate bid to disrupt traffic.

A victim of this hold-traffic-to-ransom ritual was Sunayana Chatterjee, a 26-year-old postgraduate student of economics. The Ekbalpore resident had stepped out early to keep an appointment with a professor from Illinois. When she finally reached the interview venue after changing two buses and a minibus — thanks to a show of strength by Trinamul Congress on the Singur issue — the professor had left for the airport.

“I don’t know how I will explain to him the cause of my delay in what is supposed to be a metro on the move,” she said.

As Trinamul supporters organised rallies and blocked several key crossings across the city, commuters struggled — and failed — to reach their destinations on time.

Among the worst-hit thoroughfares were the Park Circus connector, Diamond Harbour Road (near Kidderpore), BB Ganguly Street, Shyambazar, Hazra, Beleghata and Kankurgachhi. Traffic on Howrah bridge, too, was stalled.

The twin traffic trouble was most visible at the BB Ganguly Street-Chittaranjan Avenue crossing, where Trinamul leaders and supporters converged to throw traffic in the congested zone out of gear. After half an hour of sloganeering, the protesters finally made way when the time for the President to arrive at Mahajati Sadan drew close.

“The severe traffic curbs put in place for the President’s visit did contribute to the traffic snarls,” admitted a police officer. “But there is little we can do, as these are mandatory to ensure safe passage.”