Bengal government employees demand DA hike

A large number of West Bengal government employees on Tuesday took part in a protest rally "March to Nabanna (state secretariat)" to press for a 13-point charter of demands including increase in Dearness Allowance.

However, the police stopped the agitators before they could get close to the state secretariat by barricading the roads.

The rally, called by the CPI-M affiliated Coordination Committee of State Government Employees, started from Howrah railway station, clogging the traffic on the iconic Howrah Bridge for over half an hour, police said.

"The rally that started from the Howrah railway station, halted the movement of vehicles for almost half an hour. As a result, the traffic was temporarily disrupted in Strand Road, M.G. Road, Central Avenue. However the situation became normal later," a senior inspector of city traffic control said.