On June 25, a pavement along Chowringhee Place was cleared of hawkers as police hollered instructions and a minitruck took their wares away.

By Thursday, hawkers had reclaimed the stretch, going about their business like before.

The police eviction last month came a day after chief minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at politicians, police and officials for allowing the encroachment of footpaths and thoroughfares for money.

The pavement stretching between the now-closed Roxy cinema and Chowringhee Road, north of Oberoi Grand, had around a dozen hawkers when The Telegraph visited the spot in the afternoon.

From soft toys to garments, they sold a variety of items. The only difference was that most of them kept their wares behind the yellow line on the pavement, drawn last year to demarcate space for pedestrians. Hawkers have to stay within a third of the width of a pavement, leaving the remaining space free for pedestrians.

But not all of them followed the rules.

"The union has given us permission to come back. This is our livelihood. We have been here for many years. Where will we go if not allowed here," said a man selling soft toys. He refused to talk any more.

On June 25, a team from New Market police station emptied the pavement in 90-odd minutes.

"From today, your wares will not remain here. I don’t know where you will go or what you will do. All I know is that nothing will remain on the pavement,” an officer had told a hawker who tried to plead helplessness.

Similar drivers took place across the city.

A day before, the chief minister had said: "There is a video of how much of the pavements along roads in Calcutta have been encroached on. Despite this, every new OC (officer in charge) allows new encroachments".

Since then, Mamata has appeared to have softened her stance trying to strike a balance between livelihoods and the upkeep of the city.

Last Thursday, she said the drive to evict hawkers who have encroached on thoroughfares and taken over pavements will be “on hold” for a month. She announced a five-member committee to regulate hawkers.

The next day saw the beginning of a survey to identify the number of hawkers at Gariahat, New Market area, Hatibagan, Behala and The Oberoi Grand.

On Thursday, a police officer of Central Division, under which Chowringhee Place falls, told this newspaper: "The survey is not complete yet. We are waiting for instructions from the government after the completion of the survey."

Debashis Kumar, a mayoral council member and also a member of the five-member committee, said: "We never said hawkers cannot sit on a pavement. Whether they can sit on the pavement along Chowringhee Place is a policy decision that will be taken later. Right now, we are focusing on the survey."