Idea of ‘model street food’ stall proposed

KOLKATA: In a bid to ensure that food hawkers can carry out their business in a more organised way in the city, a new model stall idea has been presented to Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, and Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister (UDMA), Firhad Hakim.

Shaktiman Ghosh of the Hawker Sangram Committee and a prominent leader of the National Hawker Federation confirmed that he has already presented the idea of a new model to the Mayor where street food vendors can be accommodated.

Out of the total number of hawkers in the city, the number of food vendors is around 275000, he confirmed. “I borrowed the idea of the model from a bus stand in a foreign country,”he highlighted.

Asked where such a model can be implemented if it gets accepted, Ghosh highlighted that the initial plan is to implement it near the Metro Bhavan at Chowringhee where rows of street food vendors trade on the footpath. Another location will be in Salt Lake Sector V.

He said that the model stall was appreciated by the Mayor. “We will hold a meeting again once it is approved and finalised,” he said. Further, he highlighted that Hakim has also been requested to form Town Vending Committees for hawkers in Salt Lake and New Town areas.

The development comes at a time when Hakim requested the hawkers not to block the entrance to shops which are operating with trade licences. He held a meeting with the hawkers’ body on Friday where he asked the Town Vending Committee to take measures for the same. The Mayor got several complaints lately from shopkeepers who alleged that hawker stalls are blocking the entrance to their shops, especially in areas such as New Market.

“Hawkers should not block the entrance to shops. They need to clear the way. Hawkers have the right to trade but so do the shopkeepers who are running their businesses with proper trade licenses,” he said. It is learnt from sources that the Mayor has asked the Town Vending Committee to ensure that hawkers leave space in front of the gates of other establishments. The Mayor recently said that the model stalls that KMC installed in Gariahat are not possible to be replicated in New Market due to the lack of adequate space on the footpath.