Ferry charges, which were hiked recently, led to a series of clashes and the policemen who came in to control the situation were also attacked at a village in Purbasthali this morning.

At least five policemen were injured during the scuffle. They were later rescued by a large contingent of policemen from the Purbasthali PS. Four locals were detained on charges of instigating chaos in the area.

Advertisement

The East Burdwan zilla parishad had issued a notification prescribing the fair hike two-and-a-half-months ago, which came into effect from today, which the residents of Manmohanpur and Hatsimla under Nasratpur panchayat refused to accept. The irate residents forced suspension of services on the Bhagirathi river at the Madanmohanpur ferry terminal where mechanised boats plying between different points are the key means of transportation.

The zilla parishad, after almost two decades, had arranged online bidding for engagement of private handlers in six of its eight terminals. The ferry terminals governed by the Kalna and Katwa municipalities were beyond the purview of the fare revision.

The East Burdwan zilla parishad runs eight such ferry terminals like Manmohanpur across the district. The zilla parishad sabhadhipati, Shyamaprasanna Lohar, said: “It’s shocking that none of the residents had registered any objection against the proposed fare hike over the last two-and-a-half months. But today, the trouble was instigated by the rival groups that failed to win the bidding.” He added: “The fare is increased from Rs 3 to Rs 5 for an individual passenger and none of the passengers raised any objection to this.”