The implementation of the rule that started in the second week of January in the New Market area — a major shopping destination in the heart of the city — faced a pushback from a section of hawkers.
Members of the Joint Hawkers’ Forum in January took out a protest rally from New Market to the KMC headquarters, urging the civic body not to evict them from the roads.
The rule states that hawkers must restrict their stalls within a third of the width of the pavement and leave the rest free for pedestrians. The rule is part of the street vending rules framed by the state government. As part of the initiative, the hawkers in the New Market area have also been told to vacate the roads.
A section of hawkers who set up shops on roads asked the civic authority to reconsider its decision while those on the pavements have started adhering to the one-third rule and set up smaller shops to vacate the pavements. “There are about 900 hawkers who have set up stalls on the road. We have been told to follow the yellow line rule and clear the roads. There are shops on the pavements as well. How are we supposed to get space on the pavements if we move our shops? Therefore, the hawkers cannot move out of the roads.
The KMC must reconsider the decision. Otherwise, hundreds of families will be on the street due to loss of livelihoods,” said forum joint general secretary VJ Rehan Khan.
The members also submitted a deputation in this regard to Debashis Kumar, co-chairperson of Kolkata’s town vending committee and a mayoral council member of the KMC. They said they have already created enough space on the roads for vehicular movement, cleared entry and exit of all the markets in the area, and made space for a smooth passage of ambulance and fire brigade vehicles.
“We want the civic authorities to have a humane approach. Instead of asking us to free the roads, they should come to our aid and protect our livelihoods. The hawkers have already cleared the roads. We are trying to follow the rules,” said Sunny Shaw, another member of the forum.
The move from the hawkers came after the KMC gave them another fortnight to follow the “one-third” rule and vacate the roads. The street vending rules say that hawkers cannot set up a stall on any road, but there are multiple stalls of hawkers on the road surface at Humayun Place, Bertram Street, and Lindsay Street.
Meanwhile, another section of hawkers who set up shops on the pavements have begun to follow the new rules. “As you can see we have already moved our stalls within the “yellow line”. We are trying to free the pavement for pedestrians. We are beginning to see its benefits as a large number of shoppers are being accommodated in the free space,” said Rajesh Kumar Shaw, a hawker operating outside the Shree Ram Arcade shopping complex.
Hawkers in front of the iconic Grand Hotel in Esplanade were seen adhering to the “yellow line”. “At first, some of us were not sure how to follow this new rule. But lately, we have been able to make space for pedestrians. Now almost all shops outside Grand Hotel follow the ‘yellow line’,” said Sultan Khan, a hawker.
The vending committee — formed under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, and made up of street vendors, civic officials, NGOs and police among others — has decided to free the roads around New Market. The town vending committee is the sole authority to decide how to regulate street vendors in a town or city.
The town vending committee recently decided that “yellow lines” would be drawn on the pavements in the New Market area to demarcate the one-third width of the footpaths within which hawkers have to restrict themselves. The remaining two-thirds should be kept free for pedestrians.
Accordingly, the KMC drew the lines on the pavements along Bertram Street, Lindsay Street, Chowringhee Place, and Humayun Place on the night of January 6. The KMC also plans to implement the same in 58 market areas in and around the city with the first implementation being taken place in New Market.
In January, a police team that announced the rules and deadline was gheraoed by hawkers. While the hawkers refused to move immediately, the shop owners in New Market and on the streets around the market kept their establishments closed from 11am to 3pm as a mark of protest against hawkers occupying the roads and pavements.
“The hawkers came and told us about their problems. They have said that they would follow the rules. They also told us to consider their livelihoods. We will look into their demand,” said Debasish Kumar.