Kolkata, March 7 -- Tension spread in front of the New Market Police Station on Friday afternoon over an agitation and deputation by the members of the hawkers' association.
Over the issue, a road blockade was put up for about 15 minutes following which the situation turned normal. A 15-member delegation from the hawkers' association submitted a deputation to the OC, New Market Police Station.
According to the association leader, Shaktiman Ghosh informed that despite the Calcutta High Court having passed an order about a year ago to clear the roads in and around the New Market and KMC, police are not taking any action.
Despite the Town Vending Committee (TVC) in its meeting about three months ago asking the police to clear the roads for smooth movement of vehicles and pedestrians, no action was taken.
"About one-and-a-half months ago, Mayor, Firhad Hakim had called the OC, New Market and directed him to take stringent action against the unauthorised hawkers and keep the roads clear.
But the police are not doing anything to clear the roads. So we have submitted a deputation. We will continue our movement if the police do not take any action in future," said Ghosh.
Following the recent New Market clash, Member-Mayor-In-Council, Debashish Kumar, who is also in-charge of matters relating to hawkers, told the media that the errant hawkers need to approach the TVC in case of grievances since rules clearly direct that no hawker can randomly sit with their stalls on road without seeking permission for a designated space.
He clarified that hawkers will need to seek permission from TVC for space to again set up their stalls. Street vending rules state hawkers can set up stalls within one-third of the width of a pavement. The rest of the sidewalk has to be kept free for pedestrians.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.