Hawkers on warpath against eviction drive

 

COOCH BEHAR, June 25: Members of TUCC affiliated Bengal Hawkers' Association (BHA) took out a procession in Cooch Behar today protesting against Cooch Behar Municipality's hawker eviction drive that started on last Monday. SUCI affiliated All Bengal Hawker Sangram Committee (ABHSC) too organised similar programme today.

 

Submitting a memorandum to the district magistrate, the BHA leaders demanded rehabilitation measures for affected hawkers. They also demanded establishment of hawkers' market in the town and relief for the evicted poor hawkers. The authorities should not evict any hawker without extending alternative arrangements, they appealed.

 

Mr Gopal Dey, secretary of the Cooch Behar district unit of the BHA alleged that the district administration and the Cooch Behar Municipality jointly launched the eviction drive. A number of evicted poor hawkers are spending their days in almost starvation with their family members. Already two distressed hawkers tried to commit suicide and are now under medical care at MJN Hospital. "Earlier we made an appeal to the authorities concerned to arrange relief for the affected hawkers but nothing was done for them", Mr Dey alleged. The BHA leader said the district magistrate Mr Rajesh Kumar Sinha heard their demands with patience and assured them that he will consider the matter sympathetically.

 

Meanwhile, criticising the indiscriminate eviction drive Cooch Behar District Merchants Chamber of Commerce (CDMCC) demanded rehabilitation for the evicted hawkers.  Submitting a memorandum to the district magistrate CDMCC urged him to extend loans and assistance to the hawkers and also inclusion of their names in BPL list.  

 

On the otherhand, ABHSC too organised a protest rally at Power House Choupathi after a procession today. Vice-president of the organisation, Mr Bidhan Chatterjee, SUCI leader Mr Kajal Chakraborty and Mr Nepal Mitra were among the speakers at the gathering. They demanded that the hawkers should be assured that they will not be evicted out without any rehabilitation measure so that no one can follow the self-immolation way. They also demanded that the administration should compensate with financial assistance to the two hawkers who tried to commit suicide to meet the medical expense.

 

ABHSC leader Mr Nepal Mitra appealed to all to stand by the poor hawkers. He alleged that SUCI was not invited to the all-party meet to discuss the hawker eviction plan because it is against any such move. He argued that any citizen can conduct business on a footpath for his livelihood and it is a part of our national economics. Following the central government's hawker policy eviction of hawkers cannot be done only to beautify a town, he opined. []