The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and police on Monday carried out an awareness campaign in the New Market area asking hawkers to vacate the roads and restrict their stalls within a third of the width of the pavements.
The announcement was made from an autorickshaw fitted with a loudspeaker. Police officers and civic officials accompanied the autorickshaw to drive home the point that the announcement was “official”.
“You have time till Wednesday to follow the rules,” the announcement said. The autorickshaw went to Lindsay Street, Bertram Street, Chowringee Place and Humayun Place.
The CMC had drawn a yellow line on the pavements on the night of January 6, demarcating two-thirds of the width of the footpaths that have to be kept free for pedestrians. But hawkers have not moved an inch from their old places since.
Many hawkers had said they would act if the authorities told them to do so.
The CMC was supposed to carry out the awareness campaign last week, but it was finally done on Monday.
The street vending rules, prepared by the state government, have made it mandatory to keep at least two-thirds width of a pavement reserved for pedestrians.
The rules also mention that hawkers cannot set up stalls on a road and no portion of a stall can encroach on the road. But all the roads in the New Market area, barring Chowringhee Place, have hawkers occupying the road, more than half the width of the carriageway on some stretches.
“The hawkers have time till Wednesday. The roads must be clear from Thursday. All hawkers should sit within the yellow line on the pavements and leave the rest free for pedestrians,” said a senior official of the CMC.
“All hawkers should fit into the pavements. Those who will not find space must apply to the town vending committee for space. The committee will find them space,” said the official.
The committee has been empowered by the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, a central law, to penalise errant hawkers and also to take measures to protect their livelihood. Every town or city in the country must have its town vending committee.
The town vending committee should comprise street vendors, police, NGOs and officials of the local authority, among others.
The owner of a store in the New Market area said: “The number of hawkers increased manifold in the past five to seven years.”
The Joint Traders Federation, an association of shop owners in the New Market area, has decided to start protests on Wednesday against the proliferation of hawkers in the area.
“We will keep all stores closed between 11.30am and 3pm to protest the proliferation of hawkers,” said a shop owner.
The town vending committee has decided to draw a yellow line on the pavements in Hatibagan, a traditional shopping hub in north Kolkata, in the next phase, though the date has not yet been fixed.
A resident of Hatibagan said many hawkers have built permanent structures occupying more than one-third width of the pavements.