More than 300 members of the Aastha
Hawkers’ Welfare Association have refused to remove their stalls along
HD Lama, NB Singh and JP Sharma Roads in the heart of town in defiance
to an order issued by the Darjeeling municipality.
The municipality had asked the hawkers
on the three roads to remove their stalls as they were blocking the
thoroughfare. But the order was ignored and the hawkers continued to put
up their temporary shops. But the civic body today used police
assistance and forced the traders to vacate the areas. Despite this, the
AHWA said it would not adhere to the municipality’s order and its
members would continue to set up shop as in the past several years. "We
have been putting up stalls over the last 25 years and they are our only
source of income. How can the municipality ask us to vacate the areas
now?" questioned AHWA president Bharat Subba.
Last year, the municipality forced more
than 82 hawkers into removing their stalls from Nehru Road in the
Chowrastha area. Those shopkeepers have been rehabilitated to another
part of Chowrastha. The AHWA today clarified it is not averse to
shifting places provided an alternative is provided by the
municipality. Subba said: "Our stand is clear. We will not budge until
we are rehabilitated to someplace else." But when reminded that the
municipality had permitted the hawkers to put up their stalls on three
alternate days, he said: "We will remain closed only on Thursdays in
accordance to the custom followed by most commercial establishments in
town.”
The Darjeeling municipality has allowed
the hawkers to set up shop along the three roads on Fridays, Saturdays
and Sundays. There are nearly 327 temporary shops affiliated to the AHWA
conducting business on HD Lama, NB Singh and JP Sharma (or Orient)
roads. Tthe municipality had been collecting a daily fee of Rs5 from the
hawkers, but the practice has stopped since last year when the civic
body decided to revamp many areas in town.
In October last year when chief minister
Mamata Banerjee was in Darjeeling, the AHWA met her and submitted a
memorandum urging her to intervene. Banerjee reciprocated by launching
the Aastha Hawkers’ Market Complex on CR Das Road on January 23, Netaji
Subash Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary. "Yes, the chief minister has
assured us a complex to house our stalls, but that will take time. The
district magistrate has also said a three-storey building will come up
on CR Das Road and about 80-90 shops will be accommodated on one of the
floors," said Subba. Meanwhile, Darjeeling Municipality chairman Amar Singh Rai remained firm about his decision to allow the hawkers to trade
only on the three days stipulated.
"We have allowed the hawkers three days
to run their trade as that is their livelihood. We are also identifying
another place to house those hawkers with legal documents. The GTA has
allotted us Rs1 crore for this purpose, but the project might take some
time to take off," Rai said.(EOI)