500 hawkers evicted, stalls removed in drives at Howrah and Sealdah stations

KOLKATA: More than 150 illegal stalls outside Howrah station were razed and close to 200 vendors evicted in a drive launched late on Saturday. A similar action at Sealdah station, which started on Friday night and continued on Saturday as well, saw the removal of around 300 hawkers.In Howrah, payloaders removed structures that encroached on roads and footpaths stretching from the ferry ghat till the app cab stand on one side and the bus terminus on the other.Police barricaded the adjacent localities before the drive started around 11pm. Hundreds of stalls selling various food items, juice, tea and daily-use products were pulled down. A section of the vendors tried to resist the eviction but had to retreat in the face of heavy police deployment.On Sunday, many of those whose stalls were demolished were seen trying to gather whatever items remained on the roads and pavements. The stall owners alleged that they were not given any noti-ce before the eviction team moved in with payloaders.The railway authorities, however, said notices had been served before the operation started.“A juice shop we had been running for 15 years was razed around 11.30pm. We were not given any notice or warning. We have incurred huge losses. Where will we go now?” said Mithilesh Kumar.“We ran a fast-food shop for many years. It’s now gone. No notice was issued to us before the shop was demolished,” said another hawker, who had come to Kolkata from Darbhanga in Bihar nine years ago to earn a living.A huge crowd had gathered outside the station while the drive was on, prompting police to make repeated announcements, urging people to move away.“Do not crowd here. Passengers, you may proceed towards the station. Those who need to catch a bus, please do so. No drama is going on here. Please go about your business. Let the administration do its job,” an officer kept saying.‘Routine clean-up op to clear roadside space’Sources in railways and state administration termed the anti-encroachment drive as a “routine clean-up operation” to clear roadside space for the convenience of passengers. No official statement was issued by the railways.The encroachments had for years caused severe congestion and inconvenience to passengers entering and exiting the station, one of the busiest railway terminals in the country.At Sealdah, Government Railway Police sources said at least 300 hawkers were removed on Friday night and Saturday. Around 150 hawkers were removed from the space between platforms 1 and 14, and the rest from the stretch between platforms 14 and 19.“The drive was ordered to remove all hawkers from the station premises, including the space in front of the terminal, stretching till the taxi stand,” a senior GRP official said.Passengers welcomed the hawker-free platforms. “The way to the platforms remained so congested. At least, now we can have easier access to the platforms,” Nabarun Banerjee, a resident of Khardah, told TOI on Sunday.“We had sought time to provide papers to prove that we have necessary permits. But we were evicted even before the process got completed. I have been selling wares here since 2017. Why snatch my livelihood?” asked Shankar Prasad, a resident of Beleghata.