Munim Khan
Used to sell: Tea, eggs, toast
On the footpath: Near Purta Bhavan
Till: January 28
Post-eviction plan: “I have been selling here since 1998 but this is the first time I have been evicted. I didn’t want trouble with the authorities so moved out the day they asked us to. I’m in my late 50s now and will not be able to work in any other profession. My wife doesn’t work and my son is studying. And I’m sitting at home unemployed.”
Long term plan: “If they don’t let us sit near Purta Bhavan I’ll probably take to selling food on my cycle. I can’t afford a cycle van.”
BiswajIt Bagh Mayukh Sengupta
BiswajIt Bagh
Used to sell: Tea, fried snacks
On the footpath: Near Unnayan Bhavan
Till: January 29
Post-eviction plan: “I would make Rs 300 to 400 a day on the footpath and now I’m jobless. They evicted me before the World Cup too but I went back. But this time they took all my wares — stove, utensils.... I went home in tears. When I was jobless during the World Cup I worked on construction sites where I had an accident. Now I limp and I won’t get employment there again. I don’t know how I’ll feed my family of five.”
Long term plan: “The workers said we can return to do business on the footpath after February 15 but how will I afford my wares again?”
Srihari Mondal Mayukh Sengupta
Srihari Mondal
Used to sell: Jhalmuri
On the footpath: Near Unnayan Bhavan
Till: Last week
Post-eviction plan: “Last Tuesday, civic workers came and told us to leave the place in 48 hours so we left. I kept my belongings in an under-construction plot and left for my village in Midnapore. Later I heard the workers had confiscated even those belongings. But I have a family of five to feed so I’m looking for work in Midnapore. Farming, construction... I’ll do anything.”
Long term plan: “I’ll try resuming my business in Salt Lake after the Book Fair. Hopefully the authorities will show some leniency then.”