New Market: KMC asks police to be tough against errant hawkers

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has directed the police to take a tough approach in removing hawkers who have been encroaching pavements in the New Market area.

Sources said the members of the Town Vending Committee (TVC) have alleged that police have been going easy on the hawkers who are at times requesting the cops to allow them to sit in exchange of money. This has been stalling the eviction of the hawkers who are violating rules on a daily basis. It was learnt that even as police are removing the hawkers, the latter is returning to either their old spot or grabbing new spaces. It is alleged that such attitude of the errant hawkers is due to a tacit understanding they have with the police. Demand has been raised to direct the New Market police station to deal with the matter in a tough manner.

KMC had last week directed the police to take control of the encroached streets by hawkers in the New Market area, especially Bertram Street which has become congested due to the influx of hawkers who have allegedly grabbed spaces which ought to be left for pedestrians according to the rule.

The civic body’s MMIC, Debashish Kumar, also the chairman of the TVC, had told the media that police were asked to clear the encroached spaces by Sunday (December 1). Such a direction came after the recent disturbance in the New Market area where hawkers clashed over occupancy rights of the carriageway.

The decision to clear the encroached spaces was taken in a recent meeting where it was highlighted that clashes among hawkers were becoming frequent in the New Market area.