TMC councillor asks Bhowanipore hawkers to fall in line

KOLKATA: A Trinamool Congress councillor on Friday did what the Kolkata Municipal Corporation could not do in the past six years. Ashim Bose, the ruling party councillor in the Bhowanipore area, issued a 72-hour deadline to more than 100 hawkers to clear pavements in front of Jadubabur Bazar and the carriageway at Padmapukur Road so that pedestrians can walk. Certain areas, too, were demarcated on the pavements within which the hawkers can sell their wares.
Responding to the complaints from local residents accusing a section of hawkers of encroaching upon the pavements in front of the main gate of the market and grabbing a large chunk of Padmapukur Road, the Trinamool councillor took up the matter with Bhowanipore police station.
On Friday, Bose accompanied a team of police officers and visited the 'trouble-spots'. Hawkers were asked to stop encroaching upon the pavement and carriageway. After a detailed survey, the police officers demarcated areas on the pavements within which the hawkers were asked to keep their activities restricted.
Bose admitted that he had been receiving complaints from residents of Bowanipore and parts of Sarat Bose Road who have to come to Jadubabur Bazar.
"The complaints were serious in nature. Even women had complained of hawker raj in Bhowanipore. I had received lots of such complaints before the puja. But I decided to give the hawkers a breather at that time. We inspected the troubled spots on Friday and found that the allegations were true. We decided to serve a 72-hour deadline to the hawkers," the Trinamool Congress councillor said.
Bose said that a fresh visit would be undertaken on Monday to find out whether the pavements have been cleared. "Any deviation from the rule will put the hawkers in trouble. We need to be tough with them," he said.
According to rules, two-third of a pavement is reserved for the pedestrians to walk. "In several areas in Bhowanipore, this rule is flouted by a section of hawkers. Now we have made a demarcation in the area for the hawkers to follow," the Trinamool Congress councillor said.
Animesh Chakraborty, a Bhowanipore resident, alleged that the space near Jadubabur Bazar was encroached by some hawkers hardly leaving any space for pedestrians "In case of Padmapukur Road, the carriageway is being encroached. How long will we tolerate?"Chakraborty asked.
"We have been witnessing a steady rise in the number of hawkers in Bhowanipore. It's becoming increasingly difficult to walk on the pavements. The space in front of the local market too is being encroached upon," said Susmita Roychowdhury, a Bhowanipore resident.