Kolkata: Following a high court order to clear encroachments from govt land off VIP Road, PWD has issued a notice, asking hawkers between Baguiati and airport to move out and dismantle their makeshift stalls within the next 72 hours. The notice mentioned if hawkers failed to remove the structures, officials would take action, according to govt rules.
“We had received a court order and the matter was communicated to PWD officials from the N 24 Parganas DM’s office.Encroachments on govt land were reported following inspections,” said an official.
In a visit to the area, TOI found rows of hawkers, including those selling fruits, vegetables, fish and meat, doing business along VIP Road and the service road. Many have put up makeshift structures. Most of them claimed they had been running their stalls. “We submitted all our papers to police about a fortnight ago. Now, we are being asked to shift but no one told us where to,” said Haran Mahato, who has been running a tea stall for 30 years. BMC officials said they had started working on the list of hawkers and searching for a suitable alternative location.
BMC officials, Bidhannagar Police and officials of PWD, CESC and WBSEDCL held a meeting to chalk out a plan on clearing encroachments from VIP Road and rehabilitating the hawkers.