Hawkers in West Bengal face uncertain future after eviction drives on railway land

In the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, hundreds of hawkers and daily-wage earners are grappling with a severe livelihood crisis after coordinated eviction drives were carried out on railway land in the Dum Dum and Sealdah areas in late May and early June 2024. The operations, involving railway authorities, local police, and Central forces, demolished numerous informal shops, leaving families who had depended on them for generations without a source of income.

For many, the loss is deeply personal. Amal Purkait, a third-generation hawker at Dum Dum railway station, described his despair. "My grandfather started this shop when Dum Dum station didn’t even have a platform," he said. "I’ve been here for more than 30 years. At this age, what will I do? Is it possible to start a new job now?" His shop, which sold traditional snacks, was reduced to rubble on the night of May 30. Nearby, Sumitra Sarkar, who ran a food kiosk, now struggles to care for her paralysed husband. "He can’t even go for check-ups," she said. "Sometimes it feels like there’s no way out of this suffering."

The eviction drive at Dum Dum occurred around 11:05 pm, with bulldozers and CRPF personnel reportedly sealing exit gates before razing shops on Platforms 1 to 4 and outside. Purkait recalled the fear: "It felt like they had come for terrorists and criminals. Hawkers are helpless because police have been filing cases against them." Similar scenes unfolded in Sealdah-south, where Manik Bose, whose family had run a shop since 1951, lamented, "We had hopes when we voted this time. But now they are taking away our means of survival. If this continues, we may have to sit on the roadside and beg."

In response, some affected hawkers have taken to protests and legal routes. After the Railways issued an eviction notice on May 31, hawker unions approached the Calcutta High Court, which issued a stay order on evictions in several areas. Yet, late on June 7, bulldozers returned to clear makeshift shops in Jadavpur, according to local hawkers and CITU leader Sudip Sengupta. "Despite the stay order, they came and demolished informal shops," Sengupta said. The continued action has deepened anxiety among the community.

Many hawkers emphasize they are not opposed to regulation. "We are ready to pay the Railways for using the land or obtaining proper licenses," said Utpal Das, a hawker leader. "We are ready to knock on every door, including the Chief Minister’s Office, to find a legitimate solution. But we can’t agree with eviction without alternatives." Jageshwar Mahato, now sitting with a small basket after losing his shop, added, "Our earnings have almost come to a standstill. If they remove us as if we never existed, where are people like us supposed to go?"

Railway authorities maintain that such drives are necessary to clear encroachments that pose safety hazards and obstruct passenger movement. However, the lack of rehabilitation or transitional support has drawn criticism from labour groups and opposition parties, who argue that the right to livelihood must be balanced with property law. As legal battles continue, thousands of families remain in limbo, their futures clouded by uncertainty.