Anti-CAA protest at Park Circus Maidan likely to be withdrawn from today

Shaheryar Hossain

Kolkata: Anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest at Park Circus Maidan is likely to be withdrawn from Monday in a bid to prevent spread of Coronavirus.

"On Saturday, Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim has requested us to withdraw our agitation at least for two weeks amid Coronavirus outbreak. We came to know about this news through media. Yes, we are mulling to withdraw it soon. Asmat Jamil, organiser of 'Swadhinata Andolan 2.0' at Park Circus Maidan, who left Mumbai for breast cancer treatment on Tuesday, will make the final decision," said Debu Shaw, a volunteer of the movement at Park Circus Maidan.

The sit-in agitation by 60 Muslim women at Park Circus Maidan, christened as 'Kolkata's Shaheen Bagh', entered its 76th day on Sunday. He reiterated that precautionary measures are being taken to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.

"We are abiding by the guidelines of the state government in connection with the Coronavirus outbreak. We have stopped conducting cultural programmes at the dharna manch. We have replaced used mats at dharna manch with new ones. Kids below 10 years are not allowed. We are providing sanitisers and masks for protesters coming to Park Circus Maidan. All the protesters are maintaining distance of at least one metre," said Shaw.

The 24-hour vigil against the Centre's "discriminatory" policies had started two days after the JNU violence and women from different parts of the city have joined the protest at Park Circus Maidan.

The controversial act, which was passed by both Houses of Parliament in December, seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan after facing religious persecution there.