On many stretches in south Kolkata’s Gariahat, tin shades built above hawkers’ stalls have taken up half the width of the footpath. The stalls, too, are taking up half the pavement’s width.
This violates hawking rules that make it mandatory for stalls to leave two-thirds of the width of a pavement free for pedestrians.
Mayoral council member Debashis Kumar, who handles the hawker issue for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), told The Telegraph on Tuesday that he had received complaints that hawkers were occupying more than the stipulated width of footpaths.
“We will demolish the structures. They have to abide by the rules,” he said.
On several occasions before, Kumar has said hawkers have to leave two-thirds width of a footpath for pedestrians and their stalls must be restricted within one-third width of a footpath.
What Kumar said is laid down in the hawking rules prepared by the state government, said a KMC official.
The Telegraph walked along Gariahat Road and Rashbehari Avenue — which intersect at the Gariahat crossing — and spotted blue shades extending beyond the allowed width on several stretches.
This includes a 50m stretch on the eastern footpath, towards the Gariahat crossing from Ekdalia Road. Here, the footpath is narrow and the overhead shades extend till the centre of the pavement.
The scene is identical on the western footpath, across the road. In some places, the tin shades are almost touching the bases of the boards of stores and shops along the footpath.
Shades over hawkers’ stalls extend beyond the stipulated width along the stretch between Ballygunge station and the Gariahat crossing, too.
Debraj Ghosh, a hawker leader, said the stretches where the shades have taken up more than one-third of the width of a footpath were very narrow and building stalls leaving two-thirds free was difficult.
“We have built only 4-ft wide shades on these stretches. Less than that would mean wares cannot be displayed or stored. The wares will be washed away during the monsoon if the shade is less than 4ft in width,” Ghosh said.
The tin shades are being fitted above iron frames rising from the footpath.
Kumar disagreed. “If the rule says one-third of a pavement can be used by hawkers, a stall or its shade cannot take up more than that,” he said.
The hawking rules framed by the state government also say no stall can occupy any portion of a road and no stall can be built facing a road.
The town vending committee of Kolkata, which includes hawker leaders, civic officials, police officers and elected representatives, has allowed hawkers to build the tin shades.
The committee has been empowered to regulate hawking in any town or city by the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014.
Plastic sheets that used to hang over the stalls as protection were pulled down before the construction of the overhead tin shades began.
While many stretches are looking cleaner with sunlight playing on them after years, residents have also expressed apprehensions that the tin shades cannot be pulled down as easily as a plastic sheet.
They fear that the hawkers will now become free from the threat of any action even if they break the rules.
Their fear has come true even before the shades have been built for all the stalls in Gariahat.