Over 200 hawkers and vendors in Birbhum’s Rampurhat took to the streets to protest against eviction, deciding to guard their shops round the clock to prevent any action by the authorities.

“Despite the chief minister’s order to stop the eviction drive for one month, the local administration announced that they would evict us. That is why we formed a team to guard the area and ensure no eviction takes place,” said Shahjada Hossain, an INTUC leader and trader who runs a shoe shop in Rampurhat town.

“We don’t trust the local administration, so we decided to guard the area at night to ensure no one can bring a bulldozer to demolish our shops,” he added.

The hawkers and traders, who run businesses on footpaths on different roads in Rampurhat town, gathered on Saturday morning at Panch Matha More (a five-point intersection) to protest the eviction drive. They claimed that despite the chief minister’s order, the local administration had planned to evict them from their current location, which would affect their lives and livelihoods.

“We thought that after the chief minister’s assurance, the eviction drive would be stopped. But the local administration campaigned on Friday evening that the drive would continue. We are all poor people and have no option to survive apart from our businesses on the footpaths,” said Chandan Chakraborty, a hawker.

The traders alleged that following the state government’s initiative, the railway authorities brought a bulldozer on Saturday to demolish the temporary shops of the hawkers within their areas.

The traders blocked the road to prevent the bulldozer from advancing and decided to guard the area overnight.

“Earlier, the state government was with us, and the railways did not dare to evict us. Now, as the state government has ordered eviction from its land, the railways are trying to use this as an opportunity,” said a trader.

A section of traders questioned the legality of their eviction, claiming they were given trade licenses by the local municipalities to run their businesses on the footpath.

“If we were illegal, how did the municipality give us trade licenses? We have electricity connections in our names. Then how can they remove us from our current location?” asked Shahjada Hossain, the INTUC leader.

The traders have decided to continue their protest until the administration withdraws its decision and allows them to continue their business in their current location.

Meanwhile, the district administration in Bolpur held a meeting and confirmed that there would be no eviction drive for a month, in accordance with the chief minister’s instructions.

“We don’t know about what the railways did in Rampurhat. But we will suspend any kind of eviction work for a month according to the instructions of our chief minister. We will now conduct a survey to find a suitable place for those vending on the footpath or the hawkers,” said Birbhum district magistrate Bidhan Ray.