A team of police officers on Sunday carried out an anti-encroachment drive in Sakchi's market area and removed nearly 60 makeshift stalls that had cropped up on pavements.
The drive, which started around 11am and was over in less than an hour, however, aggrieved a bunch of vendors, who later went to the Sakchi police station and demanded an alternative place to conduct their business.
The shopkeepers, at a meeting with deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Alok Kumar and Dhalbhum SDO Subobh Kumar, alleged that their counterparts, who had been allotted shops by Tata Steel, had encroached on their space too. They claimed that such errant shop owners had illegally extended their establishments beyond the permissible limit, thus narrowing the passage area within the market.
The DSP and the SDO, who lent a patient ear to the grievances, later assured the vendors that police would conduct an on-spot assessment of the market area. They also promised to ensure that space, wide enough to accommodate fire tender in case of emergency, is left between the shops.
Speaking to The Telegraph later, SDO Kumar said that they needed to de-congest the market to make way for fire extinguishers in an emergency. "We are aware of the problems faced by the footpath vendors, who eke out a living by selling their wares on the roadside. But we cannot compromise with the safety of the market place. Apart from this, the daily commuters too find it difficult to navigate the narrow passageways of the market due to these makeshift stalls. Hence, we decided to carry out this eviction drive," Kumar said.
He added that they would take stringent action against anyone who had illegally extended their shop beyond the permissible limit.
"We are trying to work out a viable solution to accommodate the footpath vendors. We are in the process of identifying a separate piece of land from where they can conduct their business," the SDO said.
Meanwhile, members of the Sakchi Shopkeepers' Association refuted allegations by the pavement vendors and said the makeshift stalls often blocked the entrance space to their shops, inconveniencing customers.
The association demanded deputation of adequate number of police personnel in the market area to keep an eye on hawkers.
Even as the footpath vendors met the DSP and the SDO at Sakchi police station, the administration sent out summons to members of the shopkeepers' association also.
However, the association members refused to turn up at the police station demanding an assessment of their shops by the officials first.
DSP Alok Kumar said that they would step up patrolling in and around the market to prevent the hawkers from returning.
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