Kolkata pavements are meant for pedestrians, not encroachers: CM

Kolkata: Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday said that “nobody has the right to encroach upon footpaths”, stressing that pavements are meant for pedestrians and cannot be handed over to encroachers.Addressing an event at the convention centre in New Town to mark 12 years of the Narendra Modi govt, Adhikari said public interest would always take precedence over the interests of a smaller group. He added that neither the law nor voters had authorised him to allot public walkways to anyone.“People have the right to walk on the pavements and nobody has the right to forcibly encroach them. Nobody has given me the right to allocate a pavement to someone.

I am accountable to people. Interests of the larger section of the people will always have priority over interests of a small group,” he said.Adhikari criticised hawkers occupying roads, pointing to encroachments in and around New Market, where he said even motorcycles could barely move. “We will not allow hawkers occupying roads near New Market, Rajabazar, Kidderpore or Metiabruz,” he added.The chief minister said the govt would adopt a humanitarian approach in cases where hawkers were squatting on vacant govt land.

“They (hawkers) can relocate to places where there is excess unused land or a non-functional market. The state govt will gradually bring schemes for hawkers. The Union labour department already has schemes for them,” Adhikari said.After the formation of the new BJP govt, Adhikari’s administration has launched major anti-encroachment drives in crowded transit hubs, including Howrah station and Jadavpur. Apart from New Market, shops in other trading hubs like Gariahat and Hatibagan also complain that hawker stalls obstruct their shops’ visibility and signboards, thus hampering business.Traders at New Market welcomed the chief minister’s announcement, saying they hoped it would lead to the removal of illegal occupation from parking areas on Bertram Street and Humayun Place.“For 12 years, traders of New Market have been protesting against the illegal encroachment that has throttled the market and left traders bleeding. Hearing the CM speak about the New Market and letting it be known in no uncertain terms that encroachment of roads is illegal is welcome and we hope there will be action at the earliest,” said SS Hogg Market Traders Association joint secretary Ashraf Ali.Association secretary Uday Kumar Shaoo said he had highlighted the difficulties faced by traders at the heritage market when the association sent a congratulatory message to the chief minister on May 19. “From his remarks, it seems that the CM has taken cognisance of the letter. If the govt clears the encroachment, it will revive the 150-year-old market that should be Kolkata’s pride,” he said.Hawker Sangram Committee chief Shaktiman Ghosh endorsed CM’s views and said his organisation did not consider those who encroach roads as hawkers. “We will not object to drives to clear encroachments from road and parking space. But we will stand by genuine hawkers,” he said.