Are Roadside Booksellers Being Evicted From College Street, As Bengal Hawker Eviction Drive Continues Unabated?

Kolkata: College Street — Kolkata's iconic Boi Para (Book Quarter) — is a cherished haven for book lovers. But ever since the new dispensation took charge in West Bengal, and launched "bulldozer drives" across the state to evict hawkers from footpaths, railway stations and other public places, rumours have begun floating that the next eviction drive will be directed at the heart of this community.

As with other rumours that go viral, social media has played a big role in platforming this buzz. As a result, the senior leadership of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has now been forced to categorically state that they haven't issued any official notice to this effect.

So, what is the actual situation? College Street regulars claim the KMC has issued verbal warnings, but only to those shops that have indeed encroached upon roads. Owners and staff of various stalls in Boi Para said none of them have received formal notices from the KMC. In short, Boi Para is here to stay.

However, just as the adage — where there is smoke, there is fire — goes, further enquiries revealed that a few days ago, the KMC did issue verbal warnings to some shopkeepers, who have encroached upon asphalt roads. They have been asked to vacate the road space. This includes shops set-up on the 'black top' of several bylanes that radiate outwards from College Street's main thoroughfare.

But that's not all. Owners of makeshift stalls located along the sidewalks, who clutter the footpath in front of their stalls with stacks of books and merchandise, obstructing pedestrian movement, have also been asked to clear off.

All these directives have been issued strictly in accordance with the state's hawking regulations, which explicitly stipulate that under no circumstances may hawkers encroach upon or occupy the 'black top' (asphalt surface) of roads.

Shailen Ghosh, a book seller, said, "In the past, we used to sit in the open. Then, we were allotted proper stalls during the Left Front era. Now, there are over 300 stalls here that hold valid licenses issued by the KMC. With time, many stall owners began encroaching upon large parts of the sidewalks in front of their allotted space, by stacking books and merchandise there. In fact, many have made massive extensions of their shops that directly abut on to the road in front of their stalls. As a result, it has become impossible for vehicles to pass through the area. No one can drive to College Street to buy books, because there is no place to park cars."

His view was echoed by several other shopkeepers, who too said, "No notices have been served to anyone who owns shops here. But we have been asked not to encroach upon the roadway by placing merchandise there."

With some of the alarm having subsided, the debate has now shifted to those sections in the hawker policy that mandates rehabilitation, with consensus building around the need for the civic administration to first arrange for proper resettlement of hawkers before enforcing their eviction.

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