Kolkata: State urban development and municipal affairs minister Agnimitra Paul on Sunday signalled a hard reset for Park Street, Kolkata’s best-known food, nightlife and entertainment corridor, announcing a zero-tolerance drive against hawkers occupying its pavements. The plan aims at restoring walking space and giving the city’s showcase boulevard a cleaner, better-lit look without the clutter that has steadily narrowed pedestrian access.“Park Street is the window to Kolkata. Across the city, pavements have been occupied by hawkers in prime locations, leaving little space for pedestrians. We will not allow that on Park Street. We have major plans to revamp the 2-km stretch from Park Street-Chowringhee crossing to Park Circus Seven-Point intersection with proper paving and lighting,” Paul said.The announcement makes clear that hawkers currently operating on Park Street will have to move, though officials have indicated they will be given some time to shift. That sequencing is significant: the govt is projecting firmness on encroachment while trying to avoid the image of an overnight eviction drive. For hawkers, however, the proposed relocation raises immediate concerns over income, customer access, and alternative sites in a city where pavement trade remains closely tied to survival.Paul’s latest stand follows her surprise inspection in late July, when she visited Chowringhee and Park Street and told vendors to trade from only one side of the pavement while leaving two-thirds of it free for pedestrians. Earlier this month, hawkers selling stationery outside the Park Street Post Office and food vendors near the Madhya Siksha Parshad office at the Park Street-Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road intersection were removed.The western sections of Park Street still have scattered vendors but the eastern stretch from Mullick Bazaar to the Park Circus Seven-Point crossing is likely to be the toughest test. It is heavily encroached by hawkers and pavement dwellers, making clearance not merely an urban-design exercise but a social and administrative challenge. The success of Paul’s plan will depend on enforcement, rehabilitation options and whether Park Street’s renewal is inclusive.
