Traders at Kolkata’s New Market protested on Friday against alleged encroachment of roads, pavements and demarcated parking areas around the heritage market, while police defended restrictions on four-wheelers as necessary to manage rising shopper activity ahead of Durga Puja.
The traders said hawkers had occupied parking space on Bertram Street and Humayun Place, while vehicles continued to face a ‘no entry’ restriction on the road leading to the market. They urged police to allow cars up to the market gates, arguing that easier access would help bring shoppers back.
“Only three weeks are left to Durga Puja and we are yet to see the expected number of buyers,” said Ashok Gupta, president of the S S Hogg Market Traders Association. He said the association had requested the police to withdraw the vehicle restriction but had not received a favourable response.
A New Market police station officer said it was difficult to keep Bertram Street and Humayun Place open to vehicular traffic after 4 pm. “There has been a rise in the number of shoppers in and around New Market. In such a situation, we can’t allow vehicles to enter the area as it causes chaos,” the officer said.
The protest near the Bertram Street-Humayun Place intersection led to an altercation between Gupta, association secretary Uday Sahoo and police. Sahoo said the traders were waiting for action against what he described as deliberate problems created by some hawkers in the absence of police intervention.
“We are awaiting a solution to these problems created deliberately by some hawkers in the absence of police action. We will wait for some time and if we see no change, we will be compelled to launch an agitation,” Sahoo said.
The dispute follows a police drive conducted barely two weeks earlier to remove hawkers from pavements in the New Market area. The action came after traders submitted a memorandum to New Market police station over growing encroachment around the grade-I heritage market.
Following that memorandum, representatives of the S S Hogg Market Traders Association raised concerns about the use of public space around the market. A police team later reached Bertram Street and Lindsay Street and pushed back hawkers from the pavements.
The latest confrontation leaves the police balancing two competing demands: traders’ request for vehicle access and the need to keep streets clear as shopper numbers rise. The police have not announced a revised access or parking arrangement. Traders have said they may begin an agitation if they do not see a change.
