Kolkata, June 28 (IANS) West Bengal Rural Development and Panchayat Affairs Minister Dilip Ghosh said on Sunday that the pavements and footpaths in the state capital would be freed from illegal hawkers’ stalls, much like the action being carried out at various railway stations in the state.

“Be it railway stations or the pavements and footpaths in Kolkata — these are not places for running a business. This should clearly be understood by those who are running businesses after illegally encroaching such areas and also by those who have allowed or encouraged them to encroach in the past,” Ghosh told media persons in the morning.

He also said that the pavements and footpaths should be freed for the pedestrians who pay tax to the government or civic bodies.

“At the same time, these illegal encroachers also block the entrances of shops whose owners also pay taxes. This is totally unfair for the people, both pedestrian and legal show-owners, since both these categories of people pay tax,” said Ghosh, also the former national vice-president of the BJP and the former state president of the party in the state.

He also claimed that because of illegal encroachments on the footpaths and pavements, the pedestrians are often forced to walk through the middle of streets and roads, risking their lives. “As it is, the roads in Kolkata are highly congested. Traffic jams are a daily affair. In addition, if pedestrians are forced to walk in the middle of the streets, the risks are aggravated. So, these things will have to be sorted out. It is better if the illegal encroachers blocking the footpaths and pavements move away on their own. Otherwise, the state will act as per law,” Ghosh cautioned.

The illegal encroachments of Kolkata’s footpaths and pavements have been a long-standing problem since the time of the 34-year Left Front regime. On many occasions, people cannot use the footpaths, and quarrels frequently break out between the pedestrians and illegal encroachers.

Accidents also occur due to congestion on the roads. There have been complaints for decades that the footpaths of several important roads in both North Kolkata and South Kolkata are occupied by hawkers, but the previous government never took cognisance.

–IANS

src/dpb