A group of New Town hawkers, who have been allotted stalls in sheds constructed by the New Town authorities, have decided to stay put at their old spots.
The 66 hawkers who were selected for the shift now have their stalls on the pavements along the main road behind Nazrul Tirtha, which leads to the Rail Vihar housing complex.
The stalls in sheds (which the New Town Kolkata Development Authority calls “hangars”) where the hawkers have been allotted space are near the office of the deputy commissioner of police, New Town. It is barely 200 metres from where they currently sell their wares.
There are multiple hangars in the temporary market complex which the NKDA built more than eight years ago for the relocation of hawkers.
Only a handful of hawkers now operate from there, while pavements across the township are blocked with stalls made of bamboo poles, plastic sheets and plywood.
On Tuesday, The Telegraph spoke to several hawkers on the stretch as well as those who have allotted stalls inside the hangars of the market complex.
On the pavements, there are stalls that sell fruits, vegetables, grocery and cellphone accessories.
Nearly everyone is averse to moving and setting up shop inside the market complex.
The common refrain from the hawkers was that their businesses would take a massive hit if they shift as the hangars are away from their current stalls. They also feel that the stalls in the hangars are too small.
Many are apprehensive that new hawkers will take their old spots if they move to the hangars.
“We will lose our customers if we move inside the complex as nobody will walk to our stalls. Moreover, there is no guarantee that new people will not set up stalls on the places that we vacate,” said Nikhil Sardar, a hawker who runs a fruit shop on a pavement in front of Rail Vihar.
An NKDA official said they had selected 66 hawkers who have been allotted stalls through a lottery.
Shaktiman Ghosh, president of Hawker Sangram Samiti, said the hawkers who have been selected don’t occupy one continuous stretch of a pavement.
“Even if they move, the pavement will not be freed. The authorities were to talk to us before allocating the stalls, but they did not do that. We are in talks with the state government to formulate a roadmap for this shift. Till it is done none of the hawkers will move,” Ghosh said.
Several places in New Town are overrun by hawkers,including AF Block, that has more than 300 stalls encroaching on pavements and roads.
The situation is similar behind the New Town bus stop and in front of the Home Town Mall, near the clock tower.
Both pavements outside the DLF II complex, around 2.3km from New Town police station, have been taken over by stalls. Hawkers have also encroached on public space in front of Candor IT Parkand Ecospace, among other places.