Kolkata: The New Market cops carried out its first set of hawker arrests from the Betram Street-Lindsay Street crossing on Friday, barely hours after chief minister Suvendu Adhikari made it clear that “nobody has the right to encroach upon pavements and roads”. Cops warned of similar arrests if future drives face too much resistance.
On Saturday, too, police and civic officials launched a drive to clear hawkers from Fenwick Bazaar Street and Dutta Lane, on the eastern side of New Market, as reported by TOI.
Cops claimed one of the arrested hawkers, Collin Street resident Md Aftab Alam (28), had objected to the sergeant asking him to remove his wares as they were blocking pedestrian and vehicular movement on Bertram Street on Friday afternoon.
According to police sources, sergeant Mrinal Kanti Chakraborty was on patrolling duty when he saw Alam had set up a temporary stall on the main carriageway of Bertram Street. “He was selling women’s garments and accessories on the carriageway, choking traffic. He was detained when he failed to provide a satisfactory explanation,” an officer said.
The police team subsequently seized the items, including tarpaulin sheets, six packets of hair clips, and 12 false hair pieces.
Two other hawkers — Md Nizam (42) from Park Street and Md Minhaj (43) from VIP Nagar — were arrested later in the day during a check on Lindsay Street, and cops seized a large quantity of garments. The arrested duo was spotted selling women’s apparel on the main carriageway. The unauthorized set-up reportedly created significant bottlenecks for both vehicular and pedestrian movement.
All cases have been registered under Section 285 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Amidst the anti-encroachment drive undertaken by Kolkata Police and KMC in the eastern part of New Market on Saturday, hawkers appealed for a more “humane” solution. However, when asked, they agreed the directives from the administration were “based on legal grounds and follow laws.”
“I admire CM Suvendu Adhikari’s decision to make the streets accessible for pedestrians. However, one should also think about what will happen to us who are economically dependent on these roadside shops,” said Md Kausar, a hawker.
“The state has only instructed us to move our stalls beyond the pitch to prevent congestion for the public, and at the same time, sustain our livelihood. We will follow this rule,” said another hawker, Md Mehtab.
A cloth seller on Bertram Street, Md Arshad said the purpose of the state’s decision is to make everyone comply with rules rather than evict hawkers.