Kolkata, Jun 4 (PTI) CPI(M) MP Amara Ram has written to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw seeking an immediate halt to the eviction of hawkers from railway land and stations in Kolkata and adjoining areas, a party leader said here on Thursday.
He said that in West Bengal, there has long been a culture of hawkers in and outside railway stations who sell products, including food, at affordable rates.
“My request to you is to stop these bulldozer actions with immediate effect,” Ram stated in the letter, a copy of which was shared by the CPI(M) here.
Stating that evictions are also taking place of slums from railway land in the state, the CPI(M)’s Lok Sabha MP from Sikar in Rajasthan said that these have existed for decades.
“The central government itself has a relief and rehabilitation policy which ensures that those who have been living in these areas before the decided cutoff date are eligible for rehabilitation and alternate housing,” Ram stated in the letter, alleging that evictions from railway land are taking place in a “most inhuman way”.
Claiming that the Narendra Modi government had promised ‘in situ’ rehabilitation policy for all urban areas, he said, “However, in Kolkata and surrounding areas, the opposite is taking place.” Several railway stations in Kolkata and adjoining areas, including the busy Howrah and Sealdah stations, have seen eviction of hawkers from railway land over the last one month.
The CPI(M)-led Left Front does not have any Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal. PTI AMR RG
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