Mamata Banerjee suspends hawker eviction drive for a month

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday suspended a state-wide drive to clear encroachment of streets by hawkers that started on Tuesday.

“I am not going for eviction at the moment. The hawkers have asked for a month’s time to sort out the problem. Meanwhile, our survey (to identify hawking and no-hawking zones) will continue. No new hawker should be allowed during this period,” she said.

On Tuesday, police and civic authorities launched a state-wide drive to evict roadside hawkers after the chief minister criticised some of her cabinet ministers and bureaucrats for encroachment of government land and corruption.

Banerjee, who held a review meeting on the topic, also constituted a committee comprising ministers, police and representatives of hawker unions to conduct a survey and report to her office within 15 days.

The chief minister blamed the police and some political leaders for the problem, adding that councillors could be in trouble.

“A section of police and local leaders are responsible (for the problem). First, they allow vendors to settle down and put up stalls. Later they try to bulldoze them. I am against this. If any councillor allows this. they will be arrested,” said Banerjee.

Hours later, Trinamool Congress leader Debasis Pramanik from Jalpaiguri in north Bengal was arrested by the CID on charges of grabbing government land. Pramanik is close to Goutam Deb, TMC leader and Siliguri mayor.

Political commentator Biswanath Chakraborty said Banerjee’s stance on street hawkers was linked to the shift to the BJP improving its performance in the urban areas in the recently-held Lok Sabha elections. Chakraborty said the BJP was ahead in at least 74 of the 128 civic bodies in the state. In Kolkata too, the BJP was ahead in at least 47 out of the 144 civic wards. It is speculated that a significant number of people who supported the BJP in the state elections were non-Bengalis.

At the two meetings on Monday and Thursday, the chief minister stressed that outsiders were being allowed to settle down in the state and that Bengal was fast losing its identity.

“Banerjee is a veteran leader and this decision is more political than administrative. By now the TMC has analysed the Lok Sabha results right up to the booth level and found out which were the booths in which it was lagging. She is raising the issue of Bengali identity and asmita as she knows that the Hindi-speaking section voted against her,” said political analyst Rabindranth Bhattacharya.

The BJP said the 72-hour eviction drive by police and civic authorities was just an eyewash.

“The TMC is lagging in civic bodies. The party is lagging in at least five wards in Bhawanipore assembly constituency which is represented by Mamata Banerjee. A people’s consensus against the TMC has developed. Questions are being raised on this.,” said BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya.