KMC to set up cell to monitor encroachment by hawkers

Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Mayor Firhad Hakim has ordered forming a cell to monitor the issue of footpath encroachment while the civic body has also begun cracking down on errant hawkers with the help of police.

The recent tragic incident that claimed the life of a minor at Diamond Harbour Road and paved the way for a subsequent agitation by locals who clashed with the police, also made the KMC sit up and take notice of how pavements and roadsides are being encroached by hawkers, which in turn is narrowing the space for pedestrians. The same was observed at DH Road.

After being intimated of the same, the Mayor had said: “According to the rules, hawkers must sit a 50m distance from crossings.”

He said that it is true that several of the hawkers are violating rules and not paying heed to the instructions.

Terming the accident as unfortunate, he assured that since the KMC does not have a say in how to manage traffic, it will instead write to the police to ensure hawkers sit at a 50m distance from crossings for the safety of pedestrians. For pavements, hawkers should be anyway leaving two-thirds of the pavement, he also added.

Now, the Mayor has also added that a cell will be opened at KMC which will liaison with the police in dealing with the footpath encroachment issue. The Mayor said that the issue needs to be tackled jointly by the civic body and the police. He reminded that hawkers have been recognised by the Apex Court and have the right to earn a living but they need to do that by staying within the rules.

Meanwhile, the civic body has already begun a crackdown on errant hawkers as the mayor asked the police to remove encroachment from the traffic intersections of SN Banerjee Road, JL Nehru Road and the New Market area. This will eventually extend to all busy traffic intersections in the city. The police have also been asked to keep an eye out for illegal parking on the road which again makes the space for pedestrians narrower.