From row over ‘escort tips’ to littering, life’s tough for Bhowanipore dhaba zone locals
Times of India | 3 July 2025
Kolkata: From litter, including alcohol bottles, strewn at doorsteps to the encroachment of pavements and fights among escorts over tips, the residents of Harish Mukherjee Road near a popular dhaba bear the brunt of nuisances committed by visitors from outside, from night to dawn, daily.
TOI spoke to several residents of the area and learned about their plight. Locals alleged that the visitors from different parts of the city "party" over food from roadside eateries and cafes, drink inside their sedans parked illegally in double lanes and sometimes in three lanes, and hire "escorts for entertainment" throughout the night.
Anil Sharma, a local, said: "More often than not, we wake up at 5 am to screams of escorts fighting and scuffling over tips from their customers. This has been going on here for long, but no one takes any action. Throughout the night, we keep hearing filthy language. We are requesting a strong police vigil in this area to stop these activities.
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Stepping out for a morning walk is a challenge for many as garbage, mostly food leftovers and beer or other alcohol bottles, lay scattered in front of their doors. Raktim Mondal said: "Every morning, we find alcohol bottles, cigarette packets, food packets and food items lying near our doorsteps adjacent to the pavement. These litters are cleaned up by the KMC sweepers everyday but they are back the next day. We feel that it is time for the civic body to take action against this nuisance.
"In case of any emergency, going out is another challenge for the locals because the "revellers" take over the pavement. "The eateries provide them with stools where they sit and keep on partying till the crack of dawn. In addition to drinking, these people, mostly youngsters, also consume drugs openly here at night. If we need to go out in a car for an emergency at night, it becomes difficult to move them aside. Since they are drunk, our request for passage ends up with abuses," rued Chaya Das, a local resident.
Her husband Amitava pointed out that the girls who accompany the youths till the next morning come and leave separately. "Their language during the fights is something we are not used to. We have seen them taking money from the car owners who party here throughout the night," he said.