Fresh Crackdown On Calcutta Hawkers

The West Bengal government has started evicting hawkers from the streets of Calcutta on Sunday as part of its 'Operation Sunshine' drive.

The hawker eviction drive aims at allowing sunlight to fall on the pavements by freeing them from squatters, and restore the right of pedestrians to walk freely.

The eviction drive, however, has a broader political motive. It is calculated to win back its urban constituencies which appears to have slipped away from Left Front's control.

Sunday's drive removed about 2,000 illegal shops, mainly in north and central Calcutta, against an estimated 1,00,000 squatters in the city pavements. On Saturday afternoon, hawkers were removed from the streets of Rabindra Sarani, one of the major trading areas, even as the test match between India and South Africa was in progress.

 

The government is under pressure to act swiftly as a group of hawkers from south Calcutta moved the Calcutta High Court. In its interim order, the court turned down the hawkers' claim to do business on the footpath, but has also restrained the state government from evicting them till the final judgment is pronounced.

The hawkers, many of whom had run their businesses for the last two decades by paying money to the police and political parties, have no alternative to fall back on.

Though no official estimates are available, it is believed about 20 per cent of trading in certain goods was done through the hawkers' stalls.

The government is evasive on the issue of providing alternative accommodation to the 1,00,000 displaced hawkers as it fears of creating a precedent of patronising encroachers.