After encroachment by hawkers in city’s markets the state government is now gearing up for a similar crackdown on both sides of canals. The civic body has decided to evict business units from both sides of canals in and around the city including Beliaghata Canal.

A high-level meeting, chaired by mayor and state urban development and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim and officials of KMC and the state irrigation and waterways department was held at the civic body’s headquarters today. According to the mayor, the municipal corporation has completed the desilting works in larger parts of the city. However, there are some places where transportation of the silt is posing a challenge. As informed by Mr Hakim, the civic body is faced with problems in desilting the canals due to encroachments. “Following the encroachments on all sides, the desilting process is becoming difficult. Issues are being faced as to from where the desilting of those canals would be done. Houses have sprung up on the land of the state irrigation department. Transporting the silt on boats by crossing four to five kilometres and disposing of it would cause some expenses. This has become a big problem at canals around the city,” claimed the mayor.

To address the problem, the municipal corporation would construct pucca roads, wherever some vacant spaces are identified. “At places, where the problems continue to exist, efforts will be made to talk and vacate the encroached lands,” added Mr Hakim.

As learnt from Mr Hakim, a consensus has been reached over a space of the state irrigation department that the KMC would try to vacate. The civic body has also given suggestions to the state irrigation department for setting up a few pumping stations. The municipal corporation would evict the money making spaces like garages or godowns from encroached lands of the irrigation department while the residents living on these canal sides would be rehabilitated.

Meanwhile, members of the committee, formed by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, conducted surveys of the two shopping hotspots of the city. Deputy mayor Atin Ghosh and member mayor-in-council Debasish Kumar started the survey at New Market and Hatibagan today. While the deputy mayor visited Hatibagan for the survey, MMiC Debasish Kumar Kumar took charge of Bertram Street in New Market. According to Mr Kumar, the remaining stretches of New Market would be surveyed in phases in the next few days. As reiterated by Mr Kumar, Bertram Street, which was one of the biggest problematic spots has been streamlined. As claimed by the MMiC, New Market is now much better than before. “Earlier, people could not enter the market. Now they can use the road freely. We do not want to remove hawkers but want to curb the malpractices in the name of hawking,” added Mr Kumar.