Rail Authorities Demolish Hundreds of Illegal Stalls at Park Circus
Times of India | 29 June 2026
Kolkata: A large-scale eviction and demolition drive was carried out at Park Circus rail station area on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday as encroachments were cleared and hundreds of unauthorised shops and makeshift structures were demolished with bulldozers. The drive was carried out after the occupants failed to comply with the notices to vacate the premises that were issued a couple of weeks ago.
The two-and-a-half-hour drive was conducted by the rail authorities in the presence of police and local administration.
Before the drive was conducted, officials made repeated announcements over loudspeakers since morning, asking vendors to clear the space and vacate the premises.
Hundreds of unauthorised tin shed and tarpaulin covered tea, fast food and other stalls and makeshift structures that had encroached upon railway land and were located adjacent to the rail platform for years were demolished with bulldozers. The drive started around 10 pm and continued past midnight till the wee hours of Sunday.
Many of the evicted vendors and shopkeepers expressed their disappointment and concern as to how they will continue to earn their livelihood.
“We had received a notice about a fortnight ago to move out from the place but we did not realise that we would be evicted so soon. We don’t know where we will go or what to do. My father is suffering from cancer and I am the sole earner of the family,” said Md Nijamuddin, who has been running a tea and biscuit shop for 15 years.
“We had our shop here. We had received a notice about a month ago and were asked to shift out by ourselves. Else, we were told that we would face eviction. We are poor. Where will we go now? We request the govt to help us with some rehabilitation arrangements,” said Jainul Haque, who has been running a small tea and food stall for the last 40 years.
Since the new govt came to office, the rail authorities have been conducting eviction and demolition drives to evict encroachers and remove illegal hawker stalls, shops, and unauthorised structures from railway land at several station areas in the city. Demolition drives have been carried out at Howrah, Sealdah, Baghajatin, Jadavpur, Dum Dum and other rail station areas.