Hawker pushback drive reaches Zakaria Street

Kolkata: A team from Jorasanko and Bowbazar police stations on Monday cracked down on encroachers on Zakaria Street, Maulana Shaukat Ali Street, Kanai Seal Street and the adjoining areas, removing hawkers occupying the road and large parts of the pavements. Cops also slapped fines on two- and four-wheelers illegally parked in no-parking zones.
Even the area around the iconic Nakhoda Mosque was encroached upon and hawkers had extended their stalls on to the carriageway.The space on the carriageway was enough to allow two cars to pass side by side.
The place has gained popularity as a food street serving an array of dishes, attracting people from across the city. Many vendors have been doing business occupying portions of the road.
“We removed some of the stalls that were right in the middle of the road, blocking the movement of vehicles. They have been told not to put up stalls again. Those occupying pavements have been instructed to reduce the width and the length to create space for pedestrians,” said an officer of Jorasanko police station.
There were close to 200 stalls on a stretch of less than 500m between Nakhoda Mosque and Rajasthan Guest House on Zakaria Street. These include those selling fruits, sweets, bread, kebabs and other Mughlai items. Several vendors also sell saris, gamchas, lungis and kurtas.
Some of the clusters from where encroachers have been pushed back are those around Nakhoda Mosque, in front of Zeeshan Hotel, Ambassador Guest House, Hafiz Guest House, office of the Khilafat Committee and Salehji Musafirkhana.
“According to a directive from our superiors, nobody can occupy space on the road to do business. They will also have to leave adequate space on the pavements for pedestrians,” said an officer from Bowbazar police station.
Hawkers who will stay back on the pavements abiding by the guidelines will not be allowed to use plastic.
The moves follows a rebuke from CM Mamata Banerjee some days back. Cops and civic officials have cracked down on hawkers in several commercial hubs in central Kolkata where encroachers have been occupying pavements and roads illegally.