Hawkers to gherao New Market police station over stalls on roads, agitation prevails
Telegraph | 5 March 2025
A section of hawkers from the New Market area will gherao the New Market police station on Friday to exert pressure on the police to act against hawkers setting up stalls on roads.
Two hawker leaders, also members of the city’s town vending committee, accused the police of being hand-in-glove with a section of such road-grab hawkers.
The infuriated hawkers have filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court seeking directions to the police to implement the street vending rules.
“We will gherao the New Market police station on March 7 (Friday). Since this is the month of Ramzan, we will end everything within an hour. But we will do this to pile up pressure on the police,” said Shaktiman Ghosh, a leader of the Hawker Sangram Committee and a member of the city’s town vending committee, during a news conference on Monday.
The committee has been empowered by The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, to regulate hawkers and ensure they are not evicted unlawfully.
“The town vending committee had decided to restrict hawkers so they follow rules. But when it came to implementation, we did not receive any support from the police. We, from the town vending committee, have repeatedly told the New Market police station to take action against errant hawkers, but they have not done anything. They are helping the hawkers set up stalls on roads in the New Market area,” said Ghosh.
The street vending rules, notified in 2018, bar hawkers from setting up stalls on the roads. The rules also said hawkers’ stalls should not occupy more than a third of the width of the pavement, leaving at least two-thirds free for pedestrians.
Debashis Das, another member of the town vending committee and a hawker leader, said he had filed a petition in the high court seeking directions to the police so that the rules were implemented.
“We cleared the roads and brought some order on the pavements, but it could not be sustained. We have not received any support from the New Market police station. I have filed a petition in the high court so the court directs the police and other authorities to free the roads of hawkers,” said Das.
An officer of the New Market police station said regular drives were conducted in the area.
“We have filed multiple cases against hawkers found violating rules. We have carried out surprise drives against illegal encroachments earlier and will continue to do so,” said the officer.