Siliguri, Feb. 11 -- The North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) has initiated strict action against the unauthorised market that had encroached on its premises. After conducting an eviction drive in the hospital premises, the authorities instructed the vendors to remove all their stalls from the hospital premises by February 15. If they fail to do so, the administration will remove all the stalls.
Sudipta Mandal, Deputy Superintendent of the hospital, said: "The decision to demolish these illegal stalls was taken in the Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS) meeting. We have also conducted drives against this market numerous times. Now, they have been instructed to remove the market by themselves; otherwise, we will have to take action."
The presence of numerous makeshift stalls had turned the hospital premises into a marketplace, with vendors selling tea, food and other items.
Shopkeepers had set up gas stoves and were cooking openly, posing a significant fire hazard. Despite repeated warnings, they refused to vacate the area. North Bengal Medical College and Hospital is a crucial healthcare facility catering not only to North Bengal residents but also to patients from Bihar and Sikkim. The encroachments had become a serious inconvenience for patients and their relatives, leaving them with no space to sit. The accumulation of garbage from these shops had also made the hospital surroundings unhygienic.
On Sunday, the authorities, backed by the police, conducted an eviction drive there. However, it was not possible to remove the market in one day. Therefore a deadline was issued to the vendors.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.