Kolkata's New Market on a busy day.
It's a 141 years old and one of Kolkata's best known landmarks. But shopkeepers of the New Market are so plagued by a spurt in the number of hawkers in the area that they will down the shutters for 72 hours starting tomorrow morning.
Members of 9 different shop owner or keepers' associations are angry at the encroachment into public spaces around the New Market which, they say, is inconveniencing customers and driving them away to newer malls.
"Hawkers encroach into public areas, making things very difficult for customers," said Mr Raj Metharamani, an association member.
Another association member, Sushil Jasnani, said that their"We are not against hawkers. We don't want a confrontation. We just want the civic body to regulate them so customers are comfortable."
What the associations are upset about is that despite repeated letters to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, there has been no redressal of their grievances. However, they are willing to limit the protest to a few hours if the corporation reaches out to them tomorrow.
Hawkers are equally upset with the shopkeepers and are asking why they have suddenly raised the issue. The hawkers say that they have been around for generations in the New Market area and follow the strict guidelines laid down by the municipal authorities.
Nasir Ahmed, who has a stall outside Globe Cinema for years, said, "There has to be some politics behind this move. There has been no recent trigger for the New Market shopkeepers' protest." He admitted, however, that there had been a rise in the number of flying hawkers lately.
The shoppers agreed that there were two sides of the story.
"It is a problem - the number of hawkers in this area. Parking a car is a problem. Negotiating the footpath a nightmare as you are jostled all the time," said Neeta, a regular visitor to the market. Another visitor, Elina, agreed that they get "pushed around" in the market.
Another customer, Allen said "I have nothing against the hawkers. I buy stuff from them all the time. But while everyone can do their business, there has to be discipline".
The protesting association members will meet at New Market at 11.30 am tomorrow. If there are any feelers from the municipal corporation for a resolution to their problem, they say they will respond positively and may open their shops tomorrow evening itself.