This story is from March 17, 2015

Sop promise leads to hawker influx

Riding on the trade union-politician-police nexus, new ‘mobile’ hawkers have infiltrated city streets following chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s sops to them announced on Saturday.
Sop promise leads to hawker influx
KOLKATA: Riding on the trade union-politician-police nexus, new ‘mobile’ hawkers have infiltrated city streets following chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s sops to them announced on Saturday.
Several new hawkers took up position around New Market on Monday. The new hawkers have allegedly been backed by Kali Khatik, an influential hawker union leader from INTTUC, the trade union wing of Trinamool Congress.

A few months ago, an attempt by Khatik to settle new hawkers at Humayun Place had led to a confrontation with another union led by Shahnawaz Khan, also belonging to INTTUC.
“There’s big money involved in the purchase and sale of hawking rights, be it on the footpath or on the street. Everyone, from the union leader to the local political heavyweight and police, gets a share of the pie,” a hawker said.
Saktiman Ghosh of Hawker Sangram Committee, who has been at the forefront of the hawker movement in the city, acknowledged the nexus. He even quantified the illegal money that changed hands. “Hawkers in Kolkata have to annually shell out Rs 265 crore to trade union leaders and police. The only way out of this is to regulate and legalize hawking,” said Ghosh.
With nearly every inch of footpath already occupied, the new bunch of hawkers has taken up position on the street. Nearly all of them enjoy the patronage of Watan Paras Mobile and Street Hawkers’ Union, an affiliate of INTTUC.

The older group of hawkers that has been doing business in the locality for decades and who occupied a section of the pavement, but not the carriageway, belong to North & Central Kolkata Progressive Hawkers’ Union, which is also affiliated to INTTUC.
“In the past few years, ‘mobile’ hawkers have laid siege on New Market area, particularly on Bertram Street and Humayun Place. Though they call themselves mobile, they actually set up shop on the street, encroaching on the carriageway and occupying parking lots. They have rapidly outnumbered existing hawkers. Now, with the influx of a new set, we will become a minority,” said Abbas Rizwi, who has been selling fancy handbags at New Market for nearly three decades.
A fruit vendor who has set up shop near the Humayun Place-Bertram Street intersection on Monday claimed he had been around for a while. But when challenged by another hawker, he said he had no clue as the cart belonged to his cousin. Most new arrivals claimed they were filling in for someone or the other who did regular hawking on the streets.
Ghosh admitted to the influx and said it would continue till the street vending committee, as recommended under The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, is formed.
“We want hawkers to be regulated. Not a single hawker should be allowed on the carriageway. Roads are for vehicles. Pavements are for both hawkers and pedestrians. Hawkers should occupy a third of the pavement’s width, leaving the rest for pedestrians. But this cannot be enforced till a vending committee is formed and submits recommendations on hawking, no-hawking and regulated zones,” said Ghosh.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA