Min’s 24-hr deadline: Some fall in line near Park Street, rest stay put in double-row in Chowringhee
Times of India | 24 July 2026
Kolkata: A day after state urban development minister Agnimitra Paul’s surprise inspection in the central business district, hawkers doing business on the pavement along Jawaharlal Nehru Road near Park Street were found to have fallen in line and made way for pedestrian movement on Thursday. But a picture in contrast was seen in the Chowringhee-Esplanade vending zone where hawkers stayed put in double-line on the pavement.
A bus stop has turned into a garments shop near Indian Museum on Jawaharlal Nehru Road and its concrete benches, meant for waiting passengers, are used by hawkers to keep clothes for sale. The bus stop covered with plastic sheets remained encroached even on Thursday. Sandip Saha, a commuter, rued, “That a bus stop exists here can hardly be understood as it is lost due to the encroachment by hawkers.”
During her inspection on Wednesday, Paul had warned the hawkers and vendors to clear the extra extensions of their stalls with wooden planks and double-row stalls in order to restore pedestrians’ walking right. She had also asked cops to remove encroachers and enforce the rules without dismantling or causing any damage to their stalls.
While stating that double-lining will not be allowed, she had asked hawkers to restrict their business within 30% space of the pavement and keep the remaining 70% free for public movement. In keeping with the minister’s words, some vendors who used to occupy both sides of the pavement near Park Street metro station have streamlined their business in one row.
Bikash Shau, a food seller, said, “We pushed back our stall after the minister’s visit and freed the other side of the pavement where we used to keep some belongings.” Another hawker, Md Nizam, whose two food kiosks used to be kept on either side of the footpath, said, “We re-structured the two kiosks on one side.”
While some met the 24-hour deadline, others remained unmoved, especially in the Chowringhee and Esplanade areas where pedestrians had to walk down the road due to double-row encroachments on pavement. Those who did not comply claimed that the other side of the pavement was full, so they did not space to relocate in the same area. Sk Shahbaz, a hawker in Chowringhee, said, “How will we move to the other side of the pavement which is dotted with stalls?”