A tea shop owner in East Burdwan's Borshul has done the unthinkable in poll-bound Bengal — a clampdown on "chai pe charcha" of the political kind.

Durjoy Mondal, 71, has put up a notice that requests customers not to get involved in discussions sitting at his shop. The vendor said he apprehended that such discussions would trigger violence and affect his livelihood.

The printed notice in Bengali reads: "Anugraha purbak ebong doya koriya agoto byaktiborgo digoke anurodh kora hoiteche je jehetu nirbachani dinkhon churanto hoia giyache sei hetu ei dokane bosiya konorup rajnoitik alochona koriben na (humble request to customers coming here is not to discuss any political matter sitting at the shop as the dates of rural polls have been declared)."

Although the reason behind the move was not written in the notice, Mondal said: "Sometimes, customers of various political choices get involved in discussions, especially during election season, sitting at my shop. The discussions sometimes trigger arguments that snowball into violence. My livelihood depends on this shop and any violent incident will affect my earnings."

Ever since the date of the panchayat elections has been declared, there were clashes in different parts of Bengal and over 10 people were killed.

Mondal and his wife Bharati, 63, together have been running the shop near Shaktigarh since 1998 after the textile mill where he used to work shut down.

Tea stalls in rural Bengal, as well as in Calcutta, are the centres of discussions, debates and gossip over cups of tea. The topics range from sports and social events to politics.

"In rural Bengal, people discuss anything under the sun over a cup of tea at roadside shops. This is also a leisure activity, particularly for elderly people. It is very unfortunate that a tea shop owner had to put up such a notice to save his livelihood," said a sociology teacher in Burdwan town.

Candidates and workers of various parties gathered at Mondal's tea stall, which is located near the Burdwan 2 block development office, during the filing and scrutiny of nominations.

Although no major violent incident has been reported in the district this time, the vendor wants to be cautious taking a lesson from the 2018 rural polls.

"I had to keep my shop closed for nearly one week during filing nominations and other poll processes in 2018 as the locality witnessed violence. Some shops in the area were also vandalised. We are poor people and cannot afford a financial loss," said Bharati.

The couple earn between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 every day and have an ailing son, daughter-in-law and a grandson who studies in Class XII. Their son Ramkrishna Mondal,43, lost the ability to work following serious ailments and is under treatment.

Local police said they were in control of the law and order and villagers should not worry about a repeat of the 2018 situation."The district has not witnessed any major law and order issue in connection with the ongoing election process. So, people should not worry," said a senior police officer in East Burdwan.