Violent protests have broken out in various parts of the country over the Citizenship Amendment Act that received the President's assent on Thursday.
Now, the protests have also spread to nearby West Bengal. In Kolkata's Park Circus area, people are reportedly conducting a protest march.
Many also took to Twitter to share descriptions of the protests. They said that tires were being burnt and roads blocked. Incidents of stone pelting were also reported by some social media users.
Many users posted videos and photos of the incidents. Social media users said that the crowd which had been at its peak around 4 pm has since begun dispersing. However, going by updates shared by the Kolkata Traffic Police on Twitter the protests have not yet completely died down.
This is not the only protest happening in the city. People, agitating against the amended Citizenship Act, on Friday blocked tracks at the Uluberia railway station in West Bengal's Howrah district, vandalised the complex and some trains, injuring a driver, officials said.
The driver of the 12841 Howrah-Chennai Corommandel Express was injured as agitators hurled stones at the train.The blockade started around 3.22 pm and train movements in both the up and down lines are affected, South Eastern Railway spokesperson Sanjoy Ghosh said.
The platforms of the station were vandalised and an empty rake of the Humsafar Express was also damaged, he said.
The Howrah-Kharagpur section of the South Eastern Railway is affected due to the blockade and several trains, including some suburban locals and the 22897 Howrah Digha Kandari Express are stuck, he said.
Thousands of people from the Muslim community also blocked the National Highway 6 in the area.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday backed the protests that have broken out in Assam, Tripura and other north eastern states, and expressed concern over the legislation's impact on the country's relations with neighbouring Bangladesh. She appealed to all parties except the BJP to build up a "people's movement" against the law across the country, and accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of playing a "communal game" on the issue.
"I have congratulated all parties who have taken a stand... Let us all build a people's movement across India with all our strength," she told newspersons in Digha of East Midnapore district.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, the TMC president announced that her party would protest against the Act on district-level across the state and vowed not to let the Act implemented in the state under her rule. The party will simultaneously protest in each district of the state on Sunday and Monday, she added.
"Trinamool Congress (TMC) will carry out a protest rally against the Act in Kolkata on Monday. The rally will start from Ambedkar statue, will pass through Gandhi statue and will culminate at Rabindranath Tagore House (Jorasanko)," Mamata announced, adding that she will lead the rally.
