A 45-year-old fish seller from Kestopur opened his stall opposite the Karunamoyee bus terminus in Salt Lake on Thursday morning.
The man said he had no option because he could not afford to lose a day’s earnings.
“My family would go hungry if I don’t take back home some money,” he said.
According to him, police and civic teams visited the stretch and made repeated announcements asking traders not to open stalls.
“I still cycled here with some fish hoping to earn some money,” he said.
A police team later asked the man to close the stall and head home.