Four stalls set up by hawkers encroaching on Rashbehari Avenue near the Gariahat intersection were crushed by a bulldozer on Wednesday, the action by police and the civic body coming as a surprise as no one could remember such a step against hawkers in recent memory.
A mayoral council member of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said the last time a stall was knocked down by the authorities for being built illegally was in 1996, during Operation Sunshine. The drive was launched to remove hawkers from the pavements in Gariahat.
The street vending rules, framed by the state government, bar vendors from setting stalls on a road. The rules also mention that no portion of a stall can encroach on a road.
The police said the stalls that were demolished had encroached on Rashbehari Avenue. “The street vendors who ran the stalls were repeatedly told over the past few months to take away their ware, but they did not listen. We had to act,” said an officer at Gariahat police station.
The action came as a surprise as stalls in many parts of Kolkata encroach on roads but the police and the KMC look the other way.
Debashis Kumar, mayoral council member in the KMC who looks after hawker-related matters, offered hope.
He said action would be taken against hawkers encroaching on a road.
“This is the will of the KMC. We will not allow any stalls that encroach on a road. This will become the norm. If we are alerted about any stall that encroaches on a road, we will get it pulled down," said Kumar, who is also co-chairperson of the town vending committee.
The committee has been empowered by the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, a central act, to identify street vendors, issue them vending certificates and relocate them where necessary.
The committee, made of cops, government officials and hawkers, has the power to protect the right to livelihood of hawkers and penalise them for violating the act or rules framed by a state government based on the act.
Almost all roads around New Market have been encroached on by hawkers. Some hawkers have also kept tables and desks, where they display their ware, on the carriageway.
A large police team and officials of the KMC reached the Gariahat crossing at 11am on Wednesday. A bulldozer, belonging to the KMC, arrived there soon.
The four stalls that were demolished sold roti, kebab, tea and cigarettes.
A senior KMC official said: “We must keep the pressure on hawkers so they are forced to follow rules. The pavements will see some order with time, but we want to ensure that no road is encroached. At least the roads should be free of street vendors,” the official said.
Many Kolkatans told Metro they welcomed the move but were taken aback by the “bold” action. “I cannot remember such action since Operation Sunshine,” said a Ballygunge resident.