By IANS,
Kolkata : With the West Bengal government deciding to issue permits to Kolkata’s hawkers without earmarking any permanent hawking zone, Magsaysay awardee Mahasweta Devi Tuesday said the hawkers should not be evicted as they were also part of the society.
“The hawkers should not be evicted. They are part of the society. They should not be evicted on humanitarian grounds. The government should look into the matter,” Mahasweta Devi said at a programme.
The state government has decided to set up a high-power committee, which will identify the hawkers of the city and provide them with permits. The government has decided against identifying any hawking zones.
State Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim had recently said that important areas of the city will be kept hawker free and encroachers will be evicted from the pavements.