Traders from New Market met officials of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Friday and complained that hawkers around the 149-year-old market were not following any hawking rules framed by the state government.
The hawkers sit on roads with their wares in violation of rules, a trader said.
Ashok Gupta, president of the SS Hogg Market Traders’ Association, said they feared the market would be up in flames if any of the stalls on Bertram Street, along the western boundary of the market, caught fire.
The hawkers keep their wares tied to the wall and then cover them with large plastic sheets when they leave at night, said Gupta.
The hawking rules framed by the state government say hawkers cannot set up stalls on roads, must leave at least two-thirds width of a footpath free for pedestrians and cannot tie plastic sheets over or around the stalls.
“We wanted to know from the KMC their plans on regulation of hawkers in the New Market area,” Gupta said.
“In March, we had handed a letter to the municipal commissioner mentioning the condition of the roads and footpaths around New Market and demanding that hawking rules be implemented there,” said another trader.
During a visit to the area on Friday, The Telegraph found there were hawkers on multiple roads.
On Humayun Place, hawkers were occupying a footpath as well as half the width of the road.
The area marked for parking cars was occupied by hawkers, too. As a result, cars were parked almost near the middle of the road.
The entire length of Bertram Street had hawkers on nearly one-third of the width of the road. A hawker selling soft toys and scarves had taken over more than half the width of a footpath and over one foot of the road.
Plastic sheets cover stalls at Esplanade on Friday Pictures by Bishwarup Dutta
“The KMC is saying that hawkers cannot sit on the road. But that rule is violated with impunity in the New Market area. People in cars find it extremely difficult to pass through the road. Our customers tell us they avoid coming to New Market because the access roads and footpaths are mostly blocked by hawkers,” said a trader who has a shop at the market.
Debashis Kumar, mayoral council member of the KMC in charge of matters related to hawkers, said the problem in New Market is a very old one and will take some time to solve.
“We would like to see how things work out in Gariahat during the monsoon before implementing the model elsewhere, if possible,” he said.
The KMC has allowed the construction of tin shades over hawkers’ stalls in Gariahat, where most hawkers have stopped using plastic sheets.
When asked whether the KMC would ever be able to remove hawkers who now sit on roads with their wares, Kumar said: “I know it is a very difficult task but not impossible.”
Arrested with 21 ‘stolen’ phones
A 29-year-old man was arrested after 21 allegedly stolen phones were seized from him on Thursday.
Miraj Ali, a resident of Sir Syed Ahmed Road in Beniapukur, was arrested from the MG Road-Manohar Das Street crossing in Burrabazar. He was carrying the mobile phones in a bag, police said.
According to the police, Ali used to buy stolen phones and resell them.
“Ali has admitted that he was in the business of purchasing stolen phones at a lower price and reselling them,” a senior officer at Lalbazar said.
He was arrested by a team from the anti-snatching squad of the detective department of the city police.
Ali was sent to police custody on Friday.