Shop owners of New Market have threatened to go on strike unless security at the market is strengthened, following an alleged assault on one of them by a group of hawkers on Thursday.

The shop owners met on Friday and decided to stage a token strike next week, warning of larger protests after Eid if their demands are not met.

Thursday’s trouble started with a squabble between a store owner of New Market and some hawkers over the unloading of goods.

“The hawkers resisted the unloading of goods near gate No. 18 on Bertram Street, which is diagonally opposite Shreeram Arcade. The trader of our market said his store was near that gate and he had to unload the goods there. This set off an altercation, and some hawkers assaulted him. He fled to his store,” said Ashok Gupta, the president of SS Hogg Market Traders
Association.

“Later, some of the hawkers regrouped and entered the market. They dragged him out of his shop. He and two others were assaulted,” said Gupta.

On Friday, the shop owners questioned whether they were secure in their stores given what had happened on Thursday. “We met the superintendent of the market and told him that if security is not beefed up by Sunday, we will go for a token strike next week. Since Eid is close, we will not go for an indefinite strike now. Once Eid gets over, we will go for bigger protests,” Gupta said.

Scores of hawkers set up stalls on Bertram Street, along the walls of New Market. The pavements have hawkers. Even the road is filled with hawkers in this stretch.

An official of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s (KMC) market department said the shop owners of New Market submitted a memorandum on Friday.

“We have promised to look into the matter. We informed police immediately after we received complaint on Thursday. The cops, too, intervened quickly,” he said.

Gupta said among their demands were more security guards in the market and that the police should respond faster to their complaints. He said that KMC officials and the police has told them to wait for a few days.

“Since the chief minister is on a dharna in Esplanade, the authorities have sought time to meet our demands,” he
said.