Police remove hawkers from Brabourne Road church gate
Times of India | 4 June 2025
12 Kolkata: Kolkata Traffic Police—led by the local cops and Howrah Bridge Traffic Guard—on Tuesday launched a drive to remove all forms of encroachments from the main gate of Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary on Brabourne Road.The move came a week after TOI reported on May 25 on hawkers taking over the entrances to religious places, cutting across faiths. Among the shrines is the Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary, the entrance of which had disappeared behind the blue sheets of tarpaulin, strung up by hawkers, selling everything from belts to electronics goods. "A joint team conducted an extensive raid and confiscated the goods laid out in front of the Brabourne Road gate of the church. This initiative was aimed at clearing the entrance for smooth and hassle-free access to the church by devotees. The sellers were warned against taking over the area around the church gate and to leave sufficient space so that church visitors did not face difficulty entering and leaving the premises," said a senior officer.Police promised that the drive would not be restricted to one day. "Our team will maintain a vigil on the area to prevent future encroachments. Regular checks will be held to ensure compliance and guarantee a safe and unobstructed passage for devotees, providing a seamless and respectful experience. We are committed to maintaining the dignity and sanctity of holy places of worship," said a Lalbazar officer.Shopkeepers said police and civic officials had been warning hawkers to stay off roads since this weekend. "Till last week, around 70% of the main entrance was occupied by hawkers. On Tuesday, police teams arrived and confiscated goods that were laid out on the road. This led to hawkers scrambling up to pavements, vacating the road space," said Khurshid Alam, who runs a shop that sells clocks. He pointed out though there had been pushback drives earlier, none had any effect like Tuesday's exercise. "We only hope the vigilance is sustained and the hawkers are kept in check," said Alam. TOI has been highlighting how, after pavements, roads and markets, hawkers have now started to usurp other places, including entrances to places of worship. In central Kolkata, TOI listed several historical shrines, which could hardly be seen from outside behind the dense sprawl of unauthorised stalls, canopy of plastic sheets and stacked goods. Devotees said their access was increasingly getting hindered.