A footpath along Gariahat Road that had been illegally occupied by footpath dwellers and hawkers has recently been cleared of encroachers.

The neighbourhood is dotted with high-rises and jewellery stores. Many had complained that they were finding it difficult to walk along the footpath because of the encroachments.

Police conducted an eviction drive for several days last week to clear the eastern pavement along Gariahat Road, between the thoroughfare’s intersections with Bondel Road and Rustomjee Street.

Around a dozen illegal structures were removed, an officer of Kolkata Police’s south-east traffic guard said on Sunday.

“The footpath dwellers who were removed have been offered shelter at a community centre in Kalighat,” said a police officer.

“The stretch between the Bondel Road-Gariahat Road crossing and the intersection of Rustomjee Street and Gariahat Road was encroached on by pavement dwellers. Many of them started hawking. We took the initiative to free the footpath of the encroachers,” the officer said.

The stretch, opposite Ballygunge Phari, has several highrise buildings and a few commercial establishments.

The police said residents of the area had complained multiple times about misbehaviour by footpath dwellers occupying the stretch. Several pavement dwellers had built temporary structures, preventing pedestrians from walking through the sidewalk.

Many footpaths across the city have been illegally occupied by hawkers and others, forcing pedestrians to walk through the carriageway risking their lives.

“We have removed all temporary structures from the stretch and offered the families a chance to shift to a community centre in Kalighat. But most of them have refused to shift,” said an officer of the southeast traffic guard who led the eviction drive.

A visit to the area on Sunday revealed that although the stretch had been freed of illegal structures, some of the pavement dwellers were back and had stacked their belongings on pavement.

A footpath dweller said he and his family did not want to leave the stretch, which had been their home for years.

A Kolkata Municipal Corporation official said they had raided the stretch thrice in the last two months.

“Some of the families keep coming back. They have been asked to shift to a community centre in Kalighat but they are refusing. If they return, we will again launch an eviction drive,” the official said.

In June, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had announced that strict action would be taken against those encroaching on government land and instructed the police and the KMC to remove all encroachments in the city.

Following this, a hawker survey was started in the hawking zones across the city.

The police said the stretch in Ballygunge that has been cleared of encroachments is not part of any hawking zone. Hence, all stalls there were illegal.