Salt Lake: Hawkers are slowly but steadily reclaiming the pavements of this township after lying low for less than a year following the eviction and beautification drive for the FIFA U-17 World Cup at Salt Lake stadium.
In sectors I, II and III, the growth in the number of hawkers presiding over pavement-grabbing stalls is already hard to miss. They are all over the place in Karunamoyee, opposite the Geological Survey of India building, in front of the Punjab National Bank rotary and even the lanes of DL and EE blocks.
The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation had evicted 3,000-odd hawkers and demolished stalls standing on the pavements of Salt Lake ahead of the U-17 World Cup and later the Calcutta Book Fair.
A section of the hawkers had twice attempted a comeback, only to be driven away each time. The show of municipal commitment to keeping the township clean had led residents to believe that the change was for good.
A glance at the 6ft wide pavement within the Karunamoyee bus stand shows the magnitude of the fresh encroachment. More than a dozen illegal hawkers have set up shop there.
Fruit seller Swapan Pushti, 38, said he and other hawkers had moved inside the bus stand from where the Calcutta-Dhaka service operates because it is "safer" for them to do business there. "The eviction teams have not bothered us so far. Sales have been good too," he said.
The change in hawker tactics is also evident elsewhere in the township. The strategy seems to be avoid setting up stalls on pavements along the thoroughfares. Most of the illegal constructions are now on the median dividers and lanes.
Some hawkers have shifted to cycle rickshaw vans. These vans allow them to pack up quickly and move away from a spot the moment they hear of a raid by the civic authorities.
Last Thursday, emboldened by a high court stay on the eviction of hawkers from Sector V, at least 150 of them took out a rally demanding that they be allowed to set up stalls at their old spots.
In DL Block, opposite the Geological Survey of India building, residents have a tough time driving in and out of the block because of the presence of at least 30 cycle van-mounted stalls on the road. "The hawkers park their vans on the carriageway. With customers milling around them, it gets extremely difficult to drive through this stretch, " said 51-year-old Samir Chakraborty.
Mayor Sabyasachi Dutta said the eviction drive would resume.
"We have repaired the pavements and beautified the township with taxpayers' money. We will not allow the pavements to be taken over again by hawkers," he told Metro.
