Cops, KMC clear Garia, Chandni encroachments

Kolkata: Driven by the state govt's ‘zero tolerance' policy against unauthorised infrastructure, the KMC and the Kolkata Police continued with their demolition drive, this time moving to the south of the city.In the latest ‘bulldozer action', the civic authorities demolished a set of controversial public statues near the Garia crematorium. Earlier, it had cleared an illegally constructed clock tower in the same area.The demolition in Garia, also under a court order, targeted several objectionable child statues positioned directly adjacent to a public toilet. The installations — one depicting a child in a squatting posture and another showing a naked child bathing — had long sparked local outrage due to their inappropriate placement.The action ignited a fierce political war of words over the aesthetic and financial decisions of the previous regime. Pointing to the controversial setup, state cabinet minister Agnimitra Paul stated, "I have seen the pictures of the statues. What can you expect from Trinamool? They have no taste. Such statues of children next to a toilet are of very poor taste. They spent lakhs on this."Joining the criticism, veteran CPM leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya added: "This is a vulgar display by former chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her govt." The Trinamool Congress has issued no response in this matter yet.In another anti-encroachment drive reported from the centre of the city, pedestrians got some relief at Chandni Chowk after the police request to hawkers to remove their stalls and wares along Chandni Chowk Street on Wednesday morning received a measured response.The hawkers were encroaching on the pavements as well as the carriageway, thereby causing inconvenience to pedestrians and bikers for a long time. "Though we requested hawkers to remove their wares, the main drive is yet to start. We plan drives at Ezra Street and Rabindra Sarani before coming back to Chandni Chowk," said a cop from the traffic unit. Sources said that around 200-odd hawkers were approached and only a few removed their wares voluntarily.