Darjeeling: A hearing for imposing Section 144 CRPC on the Mall area took place in the Sub Divisional Officer’s chamber in Darjeeling on Tuesday. The Joint Action Committee (Chowrasta- Mall) has prayed for Section 144 CRPC in the Mall area along with the Darjeeling Mall to be declared a “hawker free zone.”
“The matter is subjudice. The police have prayed for more time to prepare a detailed report. The next date for hearing the Section 144 has been fixed on February 8. Meanwhile the status quo shall be maintained,” stated Richard Lepcha, SDO, Darjeeling. The Joint Action Committee, comprising members of the civil society along with representatives of 35 welfare organisations, have strongly condemned the return of the hawkers, reoccupying the Chowrasta stretch and the Municipality’s inability to prevent this. Around 106 hawkers were evicted from the Darjeeling Mall Road area in April 2023 during the G-20 Summit in Darjeeling. They were rehabilitated in the premises of the Gorkha Ranga Mancha Bhawan, also in the Darjeeling Mall. However on December 29, the hawkers reoccupied the stretch of Mall Road from where they had been evicted earlier.
“When the SDO asked who was constructing the Hawker’s Market, the Municipality claimed that they did not have anything to do with the market. The SDLRO stated that the land on which the market was coming up is under the District Collector,” stated Bharat Prakash Rai, convenor, Joint Action Committee.