Hawkers invade the pavements of Salt Lake in Kolkata - people have to walk on the roads

Salt Lake in Kolkata is known to be home to people of the upper class and it used to be proud of its pavements where the residents could take a morning or an evening stroll without running into an illegal stall. But, at present, they risk being run over on the road because their pavements are being snatched from them by hawkers - courtesy the local Councillors who are minting money by giving out the spaces on rent.
The pavement space in this planned township is catering to everything from mobile phone accessories to fruits.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 15 July 2016.

It seems Councillors of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation are the biggest beneficiaries of this barter of pedestrian safety for illegal gains. The encroachment is visible on pavements near City Centre, under the elevated East-West Metro corridor opposite ILS Hospitals, next to Karunamoyee Housing Estate and opposite Hyatt Regency. These used to be free of encroachers until a few months ago.
The going rate depends on location and the potential for business. The minimum upfront rate for a place on a pavement in sectors I, II and III is Rs 8,000 but in areas like Karunamoyee Bus Stand and City Centre, the rate can go up to Rs 50,000.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


Some more interesting links -

San Fermin bull-running festival kicks off in Pamplona

Three new crew members from US, Russia and Japan on their way to the International Space Station

2016 Rio Olympics - Rio de Janeiro gets ready to welcome 5,00,000 tourists


Didi not happy seeing urchins in Howrah Station (satire)

Moody discusses women’s fashion with Baba Someday (satire)

Lord Shiva and the mystery of haunted houses (satire)


Two suspected ISIS jihadists arrested in Ataturk Airport

There were more than 2000 gun related violence in Chicago during 2016

Four killed and nine police officers injured in terror attack in Bangladesh during Eid prayer


Salman Khan starrer Sultan set to enter the Rs 100-crore club by Day-3

A R Rahman off on his UK Intimate Tour - will perform in London on September 22

Katy Perry creates microblogging history with over 90-million followers on Twitter