123456 Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation last year had drawn a yellow line on several stretches like Bertram Street, Humayun Place, Lindsay Street, SN Banerjee Road, and Grand Arcade in the New Market area demarcating space to rein in the growing hawkers' menace. But within a year, the hawkers have flouted the yellow line rule, expanding their stalls onto footpaths and even spilling over onto the road.
Local traders say their business is getting hurt due to unchecked encroachment. With footpaths blocked and parking spaces nearly nonexistent, business in the New Market area has dropped dramatically. Traders say sales plummeted by almost 60% over the past decade.
"Encroachment has become rampant in and around New Market, and it is hurting our business. The authorities have turned a blind eye to the problem. Both pedestrians and shoppers are staying away . If this continues, it will become impossible to do business here," said the secretary of a market committee.
On Bertram Street, Humayun Place, and Lindsay Street, hawkers have formed two to three rows of encroachment. "Leave alone restricting the hawkers within a perimeter, even the yellow line has faded from most stretches. The civic body has not even bothered to draw the line again. This clearly shows the lack of intent," said a shopowner on Bertram Street, the facade of whose shop is hardly visible due to encroachment.
With hawkers occupying almost every inch of the footpaths, pedestrians are forced to walk on congested roads, often putting their lives at risk. "It is an accident waiting to happen," says Amit Sengupta, a regular commuter in the area.
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