Slum dwellers, hawkers face eviction in Kolkata

The struggle of the people of Singur, Nandigram and the farmers of Rajarhat against eviction is still fresh in the people’s memories. These movements had played a crucial role in the overthrow of the three and a-half decade old Left Front rule in West Bengal.

And now the threat of large-scale eviction looms large on roadside hawkers in Kolkata. Though the chief minister had assured that no one would be evicted without proper rehabilitation but in vain.

The first victim of renewed anti-encroachment drive in the city are the city hawkers. During the then Left Front regime too, the eviction drive targeted the roadside hawkers and then gradually included other segments. The move has sparked anxiety among hawkers.

“Hawkers were driven out ‘to apparently protect Victoria Memorial from smoke pollution’ or due to ‘No-Hawker Zone’ tag labeled on several streets whimsically. The result is about 20,000 hawkers lost their livelihood,” said Murad Hossain of Hawker Sangram Samity.

But major hawker-eviction drives happened all along the Eastern Metropolitan By-Pass to pave the way for 8-lane road or to take out more land for proposed East-West Metro corridor.

Prabir Das, spearheading anti-eviction movement ‘Uchchhed Pratirod Manch’ said, “The eviction on EM Bypass was implemented in two phases. First from VIP Bazar to Dhalai Bridge at Patuli and the second phase, from Dhalai Bridge to Garia Railway Station. The total number of evicted shop-owners, hawkers and settlers will be no less than 1,200 and number of evicted persons would be nearly 6000.”

The slum-dwellers are also in the firing line of the anti-encroachment drive meant to develop several areas of the city. Slum-dwellers of Bechu Ghosh Basti recently clashed with TMC activists, who threatened them to vacate the land in favour of a promoter.

Interestingly, the erstwhile Left Front government had signed a deal with the promoter to develop the land but the incumbent Trinamool government wants to honour the deal forgetting their own opposition to it at that time.

Prabir Das said, “There are 14 slum-blocks in this area. These plots were earlier with the Muslims, who left India to East Pakistan during partition. East Pakistan refugees settled here for over six decades. Somehow, the Ghoshes got the ownership of these lands. Now they are selling the plots to promoters. Government should either allot this land to them or provide alternative land for settlement.”

Two blocks near Dum Dum Cantonment Railway station are the other hot spots from where nearly 3,500 people are being evicted. One of the plots has 517 and the other 140 households.

Biswajit Haldar, a local youth who faces eviction threat, said the slum-dwellers are prepared to face any odds to get their rights established. “We have seen people's movements of Singur, Nandigram and would remind about it to our CM if blows come to us.”

Earlier, Nonadanga area was reserved by the Left front government for resettlement of evicted urban poor since railways forced the residents from Govindapur, Dhakuria, Tollygunj canal.

The then state government had evicted the residents on the direction of railway ministry (then railway minister Mamata Banerjee).

Most of the evicted families were brought to Nonadanga and were allotted tiny apartments built by the state agency.

But most of the slum dwellers who face eviction threat have questioned the state government. They said that when the chief minister Mamata Banerjee can review and reject the land deal in Singur deal, then why can't it rescind other land deals done by previous Left Front government in favour of promoters.

“If Chief Minister can review Singur deal, why not the illegal and anti-people deals of the Left Front be reviewed,” said Ramjilal of Nonadanga.

Meanwhile, the opposition parties have now questioned the intention of the government, saying the government has not clarified what it intends to do on the vacated plots of land in various parts of the city.