Hawkers block pilgrims’ progress in CBD, encroachments bar way to shrines
Times of India | 14 January 2024
Kolkata: When it comes to encroaching on the entrance to places of worship, hawkers in Kolkata do not discriminate against any group. Be it a church, a mosque, a gurdwara, a temple or a synagogue, shrines across all religions in the city are grappling with the same problem, that of vendors taking over nearby space and blocking visitors’ way.
Not only do devotees have to jostle their way through shops and crowded pavements, the management of the shrines also faces difficulty arranging for ceremonies.Complaints to authorities have yielded no result. Instead, some have spread out their fares more and some have been found dumping the goods in front of the gates.
TOI, while making the rounds of some of the places of worship in the central business district, found that one had to wade through a sea of people and goods—stuffed toys, utensils, grass brooms, you name it—to reach Portuguese Church at the crossing of Canning Street and Brabourne Road. Hawkers had even laid out their fares in front of the main gate of the church, also known as the Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary. “On special occasions, like Christmas, we make requests and the main gate is cleared for a couple of days,” said a representative of the church.
Vendors have surrounded Beth El Synagogue on Pollock Street in such a way that someone who doesn’t know is bound to miss the place.
Similar is the scene outside Lord Jishu Church on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, Sacred Heart and Thoburn Methodist churches on Lenin Sarani and Nam Soon Church near Poddar Court.
Nakhoda Mosque on Zakaria Street is a huge draw for devotees, tourists and architecture enthusiasts. But reaching there is a challenge as the pavements as well as large portions of the Zakaria Street carriageway have been usurped by hawkers, leaving only a sliver of space for vehicles and pedestrians. On Rabindra Sarani, too, pavements and roads have been taken over. Van rickshaws also block the way.
Saddique Hussain, a businessman on CR Avenue, fears he would fall victim to an accident while walking to Nakhoda Mosque. “I go to the mosque every day to pray except on Sundays. One day, I would either get hit by a vehicle or fall in a wok of boiling oil, set out on the road by food stall owners. Hawkers have made it impossible to walk,” said Hussain. The gates of other mosques on Rabindra Sarani and in Esplanade are also helmed on all sides by stalls.
Ram Mandir and several other temples in Burrabazar, Girish Park, Posta and on MG Road, Armenian Street and Central Avenue seem to have vanished behind the rows of stalls. “During festivals, we have to request the hawkers to move away for a few hours so that the temples can hold pujas without inconvenience,” said an officer from the Burrabazar police station. Gurdwara gates in and around central Kolkata are also obstructed.
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