Wednesday, March 2 2005 10:36 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Facing stiff opposition West Bengal Government today (Mar 2, 2005) called off the eviction drive in the Lake Gardens area in Kolkata to remove about 20,000 encroachers from the railway land.

Despite deploying a huge police force in the area, the Government decided to call off the operation as the slum dwellers put up strong barricade with women and children in the forefront.

Trinamool Congress workers, led by party supremo Mamata Banerjee who sat on a dharna since last night, also opposed the proposed eviction.

After holding meeting with the locals and Trinamool Congress chief, police announced that they were calling off the operation today.

Banerjee said that the Government could not evict the people without any alternative arrangement. "How can they throw them out now especially when the Board exams are on"?

The squatters had hurled two bombs in the area and had tried to disrupt train movement in the area last night, official sources said.

Earlier in 2002, the Government made an unsuccessful effort to evict the slum dwellers.