Hawkers protest scrutiny

Hawkers surround mayor (centre) at Kanchenjungha market complex in Gangtok on Wednesday. Picture by Prabin Khaling

Gangtok, May 23: The Gangtok municipal corporation couldn’t carry out a drive today to check if the floor spaces of Kanchenjungha market complex were illegally occupied because of opposition from hawkers.

The four-storied complex has 262 shops, whose owners have both trade licences as well as letters of floor allotment. The drive was planned to evict 130 hawkers who had only trade licences, but no allotment letters.

The civic body was, however, ready to allow 125 other hawkers with trade licences to carry on with their business as they were on the waiting list to be allotted the floor space.

Gangtok mayor K.N. Topgay had arrived at the four-storied complex around 10.30am for the scrutiny. He was accompanied by corporation officials. About 15 minutes into the inspection, more than 50 hawkers surrounded the visiting team and objected to the verification.

The hawkers demanded that they be allowed to continue with the trade. The mayor tried to reason with the protesters, but the hawkers, most of them from the group of 130, refused to listen to him. The mayor left the complex after about 30 minutes.

Topgay said the opposition to the scrutiny was unfair as the traders owning shops and hawkers had been told about the drive.

“We had a meeting with the shopkeepers on Monday and had told them that the corporation would check allotment orders. They all had agreed to the scrutiny in principle. The market has 130 illegal traders and they had been told to vacate the floor by today,” he said.

The mayor said the corporation only wanted the 125 hawkers on the waiting list to continue with their business. However, he said none would be thrown out of the complex. “I need two weeks to sort out the matter. The 130 hawkers had only been told to shift elsewhere on a temporary basis,” said Topgay.

The vice-president of the All-Sikkim Hawkers’ Association, Lakpa Sherpa, said the GMC should rehabilitate the hawkers.

“We want the GMC to let the hawkers do their businesses in peace. The hawkers should be relocated systematically without depriving anybody of their livelihood,” said Sherpa.(TT)