About a fortnight ago, chief minister Mamata Banerjee scorned the presence of dirty covers on the backs of hawkers’ stalls, but the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is yet to implement a long overdue project to make the stalls look better.

A plan to have metal panels at the back of the stalls that will have pictures, information about government schemes and space for display advertisements is yet to take off, though KMC’s mayoral council approved the construction of the panels in July 2023.

At a meeting in Nabanna on June 24, Mamata highlighted the dirty covers hanging at the back of hawkers’ stalls in Gariahat, eyesores that have made the once beautiful Rashbehari Avenue ugly. Similar covers can be seen elsewhere in the city, too, though in fewer numbers.

“Hawkers have put up red and black tarpaulins at the back of the stalls. You have to create a system so that it looks good,” she said.

KMC sources said they floated two tenders to hire a contractor to make the metal panels after the construction was approved last year, but no one submitted bids.

A senior KMC official told Metro on Monday that the civic body has planned to make the metal panels on its own.

“We are working on the details. We hope that panels on the backs of a few stalls will be installed in a fortnight to 20 days,” said the official.

Sources said the plan is to have space in the panels where advertisements can be displayed. “There could be pictures, artwork, information on government schemes and place for display adverstisements,” said an official.

A drive through the Gariahat area over the last week showed that Mamata’s call for a better look for the stalls has gone unheeded.

Worn-out and stained bedsheets, some of them torn hang at the backs of the stalls. Most of the sheets were put up months ago and have not been replaced. Months of exposure to the elements — the scorching summer as well as the recent rains — coupled with the dust of the roads have taken away all the colour from the sheets.

A walk down Hatibagan on Monday also threw up similar scenes. Torn and worn-out bedsheets were hanging at the backs of multiple stalls.

They made the roads and the rows of stalls look ugly to any commuter.

Two stalls near the Gariahat crossing got metal panels as a test case last year. In
over a year since then, the KMC has not made any progress in covering the backs of the stalls.

Early last year, the KMC had allowed hawkers in Gariahat to set up tin sheds over their stalls as protective overhead covers. But the backs and sides of the stalls remained open.

Hawkers said dust from the road and rain would damage their wares if they did not put up back covers.

“I know it is looking ugly, but the KMC has not allowed us to put tin plates at the back. If we do something on our own, they may pull it down,” said a hawker on the pavement along Rashbehari Avenue who had a dirty bedsheet hanging at the back of his stall.