30 vendors take over 200m Park St pavement from Park Mansion to Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Rd

Kolkata: Park Street, the city’s most prominent highstreet that was free of hawkers and allowed pedestrians to enjoy the broad pavements, is getting fast encroached.Around 200m stretch of the northern pavement — from Park Street-Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road intersection till the edge of Park Mansion — has around 30 hawkers, many of whom have set up shop in the first week of December. The development has left a cross-section of citizens, including local residents, restaurateurs and businessmen on Park Street and citizens’ groups extremely concerned.“Chowringhee’s pavements have already been overrun by hawkers. Now, as the civic body makes a belated attempt to discipline them, hawkers are moving into Park Street ,” said a local resident. The Town Vending Committee had last month said they wanted to draw a line demarcating a third of Park Street’s pavement for hawkers along with the streets around New Market. The announcement had alarmed citizens. Civic and environment action group, People United for Better Living In Calcutta (PUBLIC), wrote to KMC commissioner Binod Kumar, suggesting that Park Street, with over 15 heritage buildings, be declared a heritage precinct. Bonani Kakkar also wrote to Kumar. Restaurateurs are worried the pavement encroachment will rob the highstreet of its charm. Conservation architect and architecture department head at Sister Nivedita University Manish Chakraborti felt the city needed to learn lessons from Chowringhee, Gariahat and Hatibagan where the pavements have been completely taken over by hawkers. Architect Monica Bhargava, who played a key role in the Park Street revitalization project, said, “If pavements get encroached, it will be the reversal of the rejuvenation,” she said.