Mamata Banerjee's Bold Move on Hawker Encroachment in Kolkata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has given hawkers a month to clear footpaths and roads they have encroached. She has formed a committee to survey the issue and plans to resolve it before Durga Puja by creating hawking zones and issuing identity cards to legitimize hawkers.

In a decisive move, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday ordered hawkers to vacate footpaths and roads they have encroached within a month's time. The Chief Minister has established a panel to conduct an extensive survey on the encroachment issue.

Banerjee emphasized that her administration's aim is not to evict hawkers but to find a balanced solution before the upcoming Durga Puja festival. 'Millions depend on hawking for their livelihood; we cannot render them jobless,' she asserted. The government aims to identify specific hawking zones, construct buildings for them, and issue identity cards to legitimate hawkers.

The review meeting was attended by senior ministers, police officers, and municipal leaders. Banerjee criticized political leaders and police for contributing to the problem by taking bribes and allowing encroachments. She stressed that any new hawkers found encroaching would be arrested.

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