Hawkers at Gariahat have been asked not to use plastic and tarpaulin sheets by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) as a fallout of the recent fire that broke out in a five-storeyed building here.
Home to both commercial establishments and residential units, several shops were destroyed in the fire on early Sunday. No loss of life was however reported.
In a meeting attended by Deputy Commissioner Kalyan Mukhopadhyay, Assistant Commissioner Siddhartha Dutta and representative of hawkers’ union Shaktiman Ghosh, it was decided that the hawkers would be requested to remove their tarpaulin sheets. Implementing such regulations have remained difficult in the past. The hawkers have resolved to pay heed to the request and will remove the tarpaulin sheets ‘soon’, stated Mayor Firhad Hakim. They will also be given stalls and square umbrellas ‘such as those used in Thailand’, the Mayor stated. Movable carts will also be made available, said KMC officials.
Some of the hawkers affected by Sunday’s tragedy have already received compensation. New stalls will be set up which will be 5 to 6 feet in length and 3 to 4 feet in width, an official added.
The hawkers have been barred within 50 feet of “important crossings” in the city. The KMC will order umbrellas which the hawkers can use as shades. But these will be temporary and “removable”. The KMC will also arrange for hawker carts.
The process of taking out the plastic and tarpaulin sheets as covers and shades for the hawkers has already started in various markets of the city including Gariahat and Hatibagan.
