The proposed Babri Mosque’s foundation stone was laid at Beldanga in Murshidabad on Saturday by suspended Trinamul Congress MLA Humayun Kabir, exactly as he had announced.

But the large-scale mobilisation for the event triggered severe traffic disruption on national highway 12 (formerly NH-34), leaving the artery virtually paralysed for hours.

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Traffic began slowing down shortly after 11 a.m. along the stretch between Baruya Mor and Raghunathganj’s Rejinagar.

By noon, the Kolkata-bound Lane was choked with vehicles lined up bumper-to-bumper, while the Siliguri-bound lane moved marginally better but at a crawl.

Thousands of commuters were stranded, with administrative sources indicating that normal traffic flow was unlikely to be restored before evening.

The venue – only

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