Kolkata: Hawkers were back at the city’s major shopping zones like Gariahat, New Market and Hatibagan on the second Sunday since the joint anti-encroachment drive by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Kolkata Police. However, the rain and Rath Yatra kept many shoppers away.Hawkers reclaimed their old spots, encroaching pavements at Bertram Street, Humayun Place, Chowringhee Place and Lindsay Street in the vicinity of New Market along with Gariahat and Hatibagan. On a visit to the city’s hawking zones on Sunday, TOI found that the hawkers, who had stayed off the pavements during the anti-encroachment drive, were back in business by putting up plastic shades above their stalls. They were also found covering their wares with plastic sheets, which had been confiscated during the drive by the civic body and the police.Suman Saha, joint secretary of Gariahat Indira Hawkers’ Union said, “Our market has been down ever since the drive started and we are missing out on the Sunday crowd of shoppers who have stopped coming in anticipation of trouble due to raid or police action. Some customers are calling us to check the situation before coming.”Another hawker at Gariahat, Dipankar Deb, said, “We have put up plastic shades to protect our items from being damaged by the rain. But there are very few customers compared to other Sundays. While the rain has forced many to remain indoors in the afternoon, road diversion due to Rath Yatra is another reason for shoppers to have stayed away today.”In the New Market area, pavements were blocked by the hawkers’ wares along Bertram Street, Humayun Place, Chowringhee Place and Lindsay Street on Sunday, though this hawking zone wore an empty look. Md Nadeem, a hawker at Bertram Street, said, “We returned to business last Monday. Some customers came in the evening but our business was hampered on Sunday due to the rain and Rath Yatra.”On Sunday, a double line of hawkers’ encroachment was found on the pavement of Humayun Place, drawing the ire of local traders there. Anil Singh who runs a footwear shop said, “This morning I found several hawkers sitting on the pavement in front of my shop, violating the two-third rule. The walking passage has narrowed down again because of this encroachment. These hawkers used to sit on the carriageway earlier and now they are occupying the pavement.”Like before hawkers hung plastic covers to continue with their business on the pavements at Hatibagan. Ranjit Singha said, “Though we have been forbidden to put up plastic, we don’t have any option. As it was raining heavily, we used plastic to save our articles from damage. This Sunday our business was not good as we were waiting for customers throughout the day.” Another hawker at Hatibagan, Prabhat Das, said, “We hope the footfall will be normal from this week.”(With inputs from Poulami Roy Banerjee, Sukhomoy Sen and Debobrata Shome)
2nd Sunday after pushback: Hawkers back but rain, Rath keep buyers away – Times of India
