Rashbehari Avenue wears a deserted look after Operation Sunshine. A Telegraph file picture

Joyeeta Dey,
Teghoria

The mayor?s call to bring hawkers back to the pavements is nothing but a poll gimmick. He and his party suffer from the delusion that they are working for the poor. They are doing nothing of that sort. By supporting the mayor, our reformist chief minister is only increasing the number of road mishaps.

S. Rai Chowdhury,
College Street

The hawkers lack the means to set up their own businesses. Hence, the mayor should allow them to sell their goods on the pavements.

Khalid Pervez,
Lake Gardens

I believe mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya has a single-point agenda: to do exactly the opposite of what the previous mayor Subrata Mukherjee did during his tenure. Like many of Bhattacharyya?s earlier moves, the decision to bring back the hawkers to the pavements cannot be justified. Operation Sunshine, which was carried out amidst violent protests and in a highly politicised environment, had resulted in a lot of state expenditure, whose burden the ordinary people bore. Its gains have been nullified by the mayor?s call.

Prasanta Ghosh,
Barasat

The mayor has toed the party line. The progressive chief minister too had supported the return of the hawkers in a recent Citu meeting. The only worry for the party at the moment is a foolproof way of prolonging the stint at power. The invitation is merely a way of garnering votes. Since most hawkers work for the CPM, they need an incentive to remain loyal during the polls.

Pijush Banerjee,
Sarsuna

The mayor?s call is unfair, considering the shortage of road space in the city. More and more hawkers are setting up business on the city pavements every day. It is an open secret that the hawkers have to line the pockets of party leaders to set up stalls in posh areas. Has the populist mayor ever tried to break this cycle? And can he provide space on the pavements if all the unemployed in the state decide to turn hawkers?

Govind Das Dujari,
Diamond Harbour Road

The pavements are meant for the exclusive use of pedestrians. But acute unemployment can seriously affect our safety in an indirect manner. The government is supposed to protect the right to earn since it is directly related with the right to live. It is important for the authorities to provide a source of income to everyone even if the law is violated in the process. A roadside stall sustains more than a single person. Delay in addressing the unemployment problem will result in the Maoist movement reaching the city!

Tuli Das,
Salt Lake

No. In Calcutta, disciplined traffic continues to remain a dream. Pavements are made strictly for the safety of the people, but with the hawkers occupying a bulk of the space, there is hardly any room for pedestrians. Hawkers have every right to earn a livelihood, but not by endangering the lives of pedestrians.

Sandip Raja,
Address not given

Thanks to hawkers, walking on Calcutta pavements has become a nightmare. Most of them are rowdies. Even if one accidentally touches their ware, one has to face a volley of abuses. I don?t think anything can be done about the problem, since politicians and police benefit from the hawker trade.

Ranadip Das,
Address not given

I don?t support the mayor?s call. The hawkers create a lot of problems for pedestrians and dirty the roads by throwing trash. The items sold in the roadside stalls are often of suspect quality. I think hawkers should be evicted at least from the main roads.

Jagdish Kumar,
CR Avenue

There is no question of bringing back hawkers. They had never left. The mayor is merely legitimising their illegal occupation. All of us encourage hawkers by buying from roadside stalls. To allow the unemployed to earn a livelihood, hawking can be allowed on certain stretches in a restricted manner. But this will not work as corrupt police personnel and politicians will come in the way.