As Kalimpong grapples with the ever-growing traffic problems, the town has seen a steady rise in the number of hawkers and street vendors, and roadside encroachments are also rampant, which have been adding to the traffic snarls.
Hawkers and vendors have filled places like Rishi Road, Ongden Road, DS Gurung Road, and Main Road, which are actually areas where the Kalimpong Municipality does not allow hawking.
Though the traffic police, along with the district administration, have been taking initiatives to ease the traffic flow in the town for the past few weeks, cars parked in the lanes on Main Road or other places are not the only reason for the traffic congestion.
“Roadside stalls, encroachment of sidewalks, and hawkers have a good role to play in it,” officials have said. Residents have also started to demand overhead bridges for pedestrians. “A flyover in the town may be ideal in order to ease the traffic congestion as school students often block the entire roads that are already narrow after their classes around 3:30-4pm,” a student from Kalimpong College said.
Asked if there were chances of such ‘sky bridges’ being constructed, the chairman of the tourism department of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), Sonam Yakha, said they have no such plans so far. “The idea can, however, be considered,” he said..
One Subham Das from Rishi Road said hawkers sell their wares on the roadsides near the Cooperative Bank ATM areas on Rishi Road. Rishi Road is already congested due to the two-wheelers’ parking near the bank.
Moreover, the practice of shops displaying their wares on the sidewalks makes movement of people difficult, even as vehicles are continuously running at the other side. “Once people stop at the shops to check their wares displayed outside their shops and on the roads, other pedestrians have to get down on the road where vehicles move.
I am not asking the authorities to remove the hawkers, as they too don’t have a choice, but an alternative place could be allotted for them,” said Mr Das. However, Municipality officials said they already have been looking after many other things, and that the roadside stalls are “petty issues” to look after.
Chairman of the municipality Rabi Pradhan, however, said they will hold a meeting soon to discuss such issues. “Permanent shopkeepers also encroach on the footpath that belongs to the public.
This is an old issue, and we have tried removing that in the past, but they come up again and again. But to beautify the town, we will sit for a meeting and discuss the issues soon,” Mr Pradhan said.