A part of the police force in Contai on Friday. Picture by Amit Jana

Tamluk, Nov. 14: Eight hundred policemen, led by seven additional SPs, 18 DSPs, 42 inspectors and 180 sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors.

Another Nandigram or is it another Singur?

No, just a Bengal police mission to help a retired lecturer build two bridges from his doorstep over a 20-foot-wide ditch in East Midnapore.

The Great Wall of Khaki stood erect this morning outside the house of Mahim Das in Contai town, about 170km from Calcutta, ready to enforce a high court directive. The court had allowed the 65-year-old Mahim to go ahead with the construction of the bridges that ran into opposition from a section of people allegedly supported by the Trinamul Congress.

Police officers said they could not recall any recent instance where 800 policemen — the same number on duty at Singur when the Tata plant was coming up — had been deployed to uphold the legal rights of a single citizen.

Not that the police were being too careful. They had tried to enforce the order in March, banking on a force of 100.

The protectors were then far outnumbered by the protesters — 10,000 of whom descended near the ditch and chased the police away. Following the retreat and a contempt petition by Mahim, the court told the police to ensure that security was provided till the construction of the bridges was complete.

Once bitten, the police returned with the 800-strong force, presumably counting on an assessment that one policeman is good enough to tackle over a dozen protesters.

The saga of the bridges had begun two years ago. Mahim had then sought permission from the Trinamul-led municipality to construct the bridges over the ditch that serves as a drainage canal.

One bridge was in place already but Mahim wanted separate entrances to the sides of the two-storied house where his two sons stay. Each of the new bridge is expected to cost around Rs 1.5 lakh.

The municipality did not consent. Sisir Adhikary, the chairman of the Contai municipality, said Mahim had not taken permission from the civic body for building the house.

“The house is illegal. He now wants to build two bridges across the ditch to his illegal house. He is creating problems with a political motive. He is a CPM supporter,” Adhikary said. “People have objected because the bridges will partly block the ditch and affect its drainage capacity.”

However, Adhikary conceded that the municipality did not raise before the court the question of legality of the house.

When repeated requests for permission from the municipality failed, Mahim moved Calcutta High Court. “Despite the court order, I could not construct the bridges because of the resistance from people in the area. The police did not provide me protection. So, I moved a contempt of court case against the force,” he said.

Today, work on the bridges started in the presence of the police.

But municipal chairman Adhikary has not given up. “We will move a larger bench against the high court order,” he said, adding the illegal nature of the house would be raised this time.