At least two-thirds of a pavement’s width should be kept free for pedestrians, and hawkers must restrict their stalls to one-third of the width.

No hawker can set up a stall on a road.

Hawkers must stay at least 50 metres away from major road crossings.

A tour of Calcutta’s major markets shows how these rules are routinely flouted.

One-third free space

Across the city, hawkers have turned the rule on its head.

The Oberoi Grand Arcade, a landmark shopping stretch, is hemmed in by stalls on both sides of the walkway. The pedestrian space has been reduced to less than one-third of the pavement.

In the New Market area, the civic body and police had in 2024 drawn yellow
lines on pavements to demarcate space for hawkers. The rules were followed, but only for a few days. Vendors continue to take up more than the allotted space.

Gariahat is no different. Take a left or right turn from the intersection, and the pavements offer barely any space for pedestrians.

No stall on road

Another rule is similarly ignored.

Stalls selling everything from tarpaulin sheets to plastic buckets line both sides of Brabourne Road near Nandaram Market. Brabourne Road is one of central Calcutta’s busiest stretches. Closer to Nandaram Market, adjoining lanes such as Armenian Street become difficult to navigate, whether on foot or on two-wheelers.

In New Market, on Humayun Place and Bertram Street, hawkers have set up stalls on the carriageway, making it a struggle for visitors to move through the area.

A hawker on Bertram Street said: “Whenever officials or police ask us to move, we do. But otherwise, we sit here.” He said he was looking forward to higher weekend footfall.

At Hatibagan, hawkers’ stalls extend onto the road and their wares spill onto Aurobindo Sarani and Bidhan Sarani.

At the Gariahat intersection, several stalls, mostly selling food items, have come up on Rashbehari Avenue.

50-metre bar

Most major intersections in the city have hawkers operating at crossings, in violation of the 50-metre norm.

On Friday, Metro saw scores of stalls on the southern footpath at the intersection of SN Banerjee Road and Chowringhee Road. In Behala, the main hawkers’ market begins less than 20 metres from the busy No. 14 crossing.

At Hatibagan and Gariahat crossings, the density of stalls makes counting them difficult.