As the clock ticked closer to 21 July, Howrah and Sealdah stations witnessed mammoth crowds flocking to the city to be a part of Martyrs’ Day tomorrow. With thousands of party supporters swarming to Kolkata from North Bengal, Sealdah station saw a flood of visitors this morning. Crowds of TMC supporters in small and big groups were seen shouting slogans and carrying party flags near the station. To make the journey for the supporters from far off places of the state least arduous, the party made elaborate arrangements with buses for each group stationed near Sealdah and Howrah stations to carry them without having to face any transport hassle.
In addition, medical camps were set up to provide first aid to the people who might fall sick after long hours of journey. Numerous volunteers were deployed at the station to receive the party supporters arriving from various corners of the state and take them to the designated venues.
The ruling party made elaborate arrangements for participants of the mega rally. For providing lodging facility to lakhs of people from across the state that have already started flocking the ground in large numbers, enormous tents have been put up at Gitanjali Stadium, Central Park and Khudiram Anushilan Kendra. For ease of locating the people, the tents have been numbered and with all the basic facilities like lighting, pedestal fans, bedding and so on. The three venues witnessed an action-packed day, as last-minute preparations to accommodate people participating in celebration of Martyrs’ Day at Esplanade were carried on full swing today. With special emphasis given to hygiene and sanitation, regular sanitisation of the tents were being carried out and masks were distributed to the visitors.
By noon, over 12,000 party supporters reached Gitanjali Stadium while the number is expected to cross 30,000 by the next morning, according to the party volunteers. As informed by the volunteers, at Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, around 10, 000 party workers were accommodated by noon while Central Park had around 30,000 people from various districts of north Bengal.